2 weeks ago
Advocates Welcome Supreme Court Rebuke Over Consumer Fora Delays
Consumer courts in India help people who have been treated unfairly by companies.
India's Supreme Court is the highest court in the country.
It recently told these consumer courts that they are taking too long to give justice.
Lawyers who work in these courts said the Supreme Court was right.
There is an old man named Arvind Budhkar in this story.
He left his home so that a new building could be built for his society.
The builder was supposed to finish the building in three years.
Almost 17 years later, the building is still not done.
Mr. Budhkar won a case in 2019, but the builder appealed.
Now he waits again, this time for a decision in September.
The Supreme Court criticized consumer fora across the country for failing to deliver justice within the prescribed timeframe.
Advocates practicing before consumer commissions welcomed the intervention, calling it the need of the hour.
72-year-old Kalyan resident Arvind Budhkar is still fighting before the NCDRC to reclaim his home, vacated more than a decade ago for a redevelopment project.
Budhkar and fellow society members won against developer Shruti Raj Enterprise before the State Consumer Commission in 2019, but the case has been pending at the National Commission since the developer appealed.
Advocates cited non-judicial technical members presiding over commissions and 'forum shopping' as key causes of pendency.
- Who
- The Supreme Court of India, consumer commissions, lawyers including Anand Patwardhan and Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, and 72-year-old Kalyan resident Arvind Budhkar.
- What
- The Supreme Court rebuked consumer fora over delayed justice, an intervention advocates welcomed.
- Where
- India, with the example case involving Tilak Nagar, Kalyan, near Mumbai.
- When
- August 14, 2026.
- Why
- Consumer fora have failed to deliver justice within prescribed timeframes, causing chronic delays and pendency.
Key facts
- Event
- Supreme Court rebukes consumer fora over delayed justice
- Date
- August 14, 2026
- Location
- Mumbai and Tilak Nagar, Kalyan, India
- Example case
- Arvind Budhkar (72) and 23 other members of Shankar Chhaya Co-operative Housing Society
- Developer
- Shruti Raj Enterprise
- Development agreement
- October 23, 2007; 15-storey building due within 3 years of members vacating
- Project status
- 11 of 15 floors completed after nearly 17 years; no construction activity for 3 years
- Next hearing
- Final disposal scheduled before the NCDRC in September
Quotes
Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh
Advocate and critic of consumer forum practices
“"We won the case against the developer before the State Consumer Commission in 2019, and we were hopeful about our house, but the judgment was challenged before the National Commission by the developer and the case is just lying before the Commission since then. However, we have got a date this September for its final disposal. Hopefully, we shall get the judgment. The entire process of seeking justice is very much frustrating."”
freepressjournal.in
“"This also leads to mishandling of judicial matters, which thus results in order copies which lack judicial application of minds. Senior advocates practising before the Commission often feel that it is an insult to human intelligence while appearing before a few of these non‑judicial members."”
freepressjournal.in
Sources
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