Consumer forum hears over 300 cases virtually

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala state consumer disputes redressal commission has held online hearing of more than 300 cases since the imposition of the lockdown. The state commission was the first to switch to online hearing in the country, though the national commission has recently mooted the virtual option to circumvent the hurdles posed by Covid-19 related restrictions.
According to the commission authorities, it had started hearing cases through videoconferencing on April 14. “The commission hears 10 to 12 cases per day on an average. On certain days the number goes up to 15. The cases taken up for virtual hearing are those which require high priority,” commission authorities said. The commission chaired by Justice K Surendra Mohan has jurisdiction in Kerala as well as Lakshadweep. The commission directly accepts complaints amounting to consumer loss claimed between Rs 1 crore and Rs 10 crore. It also adjudicates appeals filed on orders passed by district commissions all over the state.
The virtual hearing schedule is same as the physical schedule as per which the commission works from 11.30 am to 3.30 pm. “During pre-Covid days, the commission used to organize physical hearing of up to 20 cases a day. The number of cases being filed in the commission too has come down following the Covid restrictions, prompting the commission to receive complaints online.
“If 100 to 150 complaints, including appeal petitions, used to come up every day during the pre-Covid period, it has now come down to 50-60 per day. That’s why the commission has now started accepting complaints online,” said commission court officer H Sajeer.
Complaints can be filed online by sending a scanned copy of the petition to the commission email address cdrckerala@gmail.com. The hard copy of the complaint with mandatory documents have to be sent to the commission.
For details about the procedures for submitting complaints online, contact: 7012156758, 9557584730.