Consumer Protection: Legal Basis

The emergence of consumer law has evident in the twentieth century, with a sequence of scandals over adulterated food, which opened the gate for the Food and Drug Acts and various other measures in forms of legislation/acts enacted to protect the interest of consumers on various aspects. Prior to ordinances for the industrial houses, industrial houses could include any ingredients they desired, including known dangerous substances, and they could declare comprehensive claims about their goods and services without countering any litigation. Consumer law is a legal proposition that solely aims on providing a shield to the consumers when they buy a product or service. This act is drafted to ensure that when consumers buy a product or service, they can be protected from different issues such as fraud, bad quality, underweight etc. This act also ensures that competitive markets work in a just, fair and equitable manner.

On April 9, 1985, the General Assembly of the United Nations, by Consumer Protection Resolution no. 39/248, embraced the guidelines to bestow a framework for Governments, particularly those of developing Nations, to use in detail, ostentatious and nourished consumer protection regulations and legislation. The aims of the said guidelines include helping countries in attaining or maintaining requisite protection for their citizens as consumers and uplifting high levels of ethical and moral conduct for industrial houses those engaged in the business of manufacturing and supplying goods and services to the consumers. The legislature needs a platform according to which the guidelines framed by the UN can be met, including the protection of consumers’ dangerous and hazardous substances and providing safe and effective supply and Redressal system. That legislation also ensures the safety and interest of the consumers.

Then, Consumer Protection Act was enacted by the Parliament in the year 1986. The whirlwind Industrial growth in India in the said era lead to tremendous price competition between the industrial houses which further leads to downright falling of quality and quantity of goods and services provided by the said industrial houses and thus there was an acute need of the time to enact specific and certain law despite of the other laws like Indian Penal Code, Sale of Goods Act, Drugs and Cosmetics Act for protection of rights and interest of the consumers. Hence, Consumer Protection Act, 1986 was enacted to save various rights and interests of consumer-like Redressal against unfair trade practices, protection against the manufacturing of hazardous goods, consumer education, etc. The Indian parliament enacted the Consumer Protection Act to safeguard the consumer interest in compliance with these UN guidelines. Bypassing such legislation the Legislature has proposed speedy solutions to the disputes of the consumer for the benefit of the people at large.

Since the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act due to its veracity, there were various muddles in the interpretation of the act and the inclusion and exclusion from the act. There were different views of the judiciary as well as medical fraternity regarding the implication of the present Act in cases of medical negligence. The definition of service, consumer, etc., as well as the medical negligence, enshrined in the Act and their interrelation with the context of the medical practitioner was ambiguous. Various high courts also reached different conclusions at different points of time and interpret the definition and meaning according to the prevailing time.