Coimbatore: The state government is yet to find a replacement for the post of the president of Coimbatore district consumer disputes redressal commission that fell vacant two weeks ago.
After A P Balachandran took voluntary retirement on January 11, the number of pending cases has gone up significantly, an official said. “Last month, 200 fresh petitions were filed before the commission. It has over 1,600 pending cases. Without the president, the commission cannot hear cases or pronounce judgment. Due to the uncertainty, we have been adjourning cases.”
The district consumer disputes redressal forum was upgraded to the commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, last July. “Even when the forum was handling cases for claims worth less than Rs 20 lakh, there was a struggle to dispose cases on time due to manpower shortage. Now that the cap limit has been raised to Rs 1 crore, the number of complaints has gone up considerably,” he said.
Even when the president was hearing 70 cases a day, a case could be posted for hearing only once in 40 days and on an average, it would take 20 years to deliver a verdict. “Balachandran was given additional charge of the consumer courts in Nilgiris and Tirupur and as a result, he could hear cases in Coimbatore only for three days. Now that he is retired, courts in the neighbouring districts are also functioning without a president,” the official said.
As per government norms, a suitable replacement should be identified at least two months before the president retires and the selected person should take charge the very next day, said K Kathirmathiyon, secretary of the Coimbatore Consumer Cause. “But it is not followed anywhere and the president’s posts remain vacant. It shows the insensitivity of the government towards consumers. Due to this, it has been taking up to two years to get a verdict. Now, what is the difference between a consumer court and civil court? Due to the delay, consumers are hesitant to approach the courts,” he added.