Q.What is the Consumer Disputes Redressal Machinery?

Consumer protection law sets up a simplified, three-level system of quasi-judicial bodies so that consumer complaints can be resolved faster and more cheaply than in an ordinary civil court.

The Consumer Disputes Redressal Machinery is the mechanism created under consumer protection law to give consumers a practical, accessible way to enforce their rights when they suffer from a defective good, a deficient service, or an unfair trade practice, without having to go through the delay and expense of an ordinary civil court. It is organised in three tiers: the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which is the first point of contact for most everyday, lower-value complaints; the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which hears mid/higher-value complaints directly and also decides appeals from District-level orders; and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which hears the highest-value complaints and appeals from the State Commission, with a further appeal available to the Supreme Court of India. Each tier is headed by a person qualified to be a judge and includes other members, giving the machinery a judicial character while keeping its procedure much simpler and cheaper than a regular civil suit — no mandatory lawyer, little or no court fee, and a written-complaint-based process.

Students often confuse this redressal machinery with the Consumer Protection Councils. Remember: the Councils only advise and promote consumer rights in general; the Commissions actually hear and decide individual complaints and pass binding orders.