Bare Acts Live

Jammu and Kashmir Consumer Protection Act, 1987

(Act No.16 of 1987)

JK056

[Received the assent of the Governor on 29th August, 1987 and published in the Government Gazette dated 22nd August, 1987]

CHAPTER

Preliminary

(a) "appropriate laboratory" means a laboratory or organisation recognised by the Government and includes any such laboratory or organisation established by or under any law for the time being in force, which is maintained, financed or aided by the Government for carrying out analysis or test of any goods with a view to determining whether such goods suffer from any defect;

[(aa) "branch office" means

(ii) any establishment carrying on either the same or substantially the same activity as that carried on by the head office of the establishment;]

(b) "complainant" means

(i) a consumer; or

(ii) any voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956 or under any other law for the time being in force; or

(iii) the Government, who makes a complaint;

[(iv) one or more consumers, where there are numerous consumers having the same interests;]

(c) "complaint" means any allegation in writing made by a complainant that

[(i) an unfair trade practice or a restrictive trade practice has been adopted by any traded

(ii) hires or avails of any services for a consideration which has been paid or promised or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment and includes any beneficiary of such services other than the person who [hires or avails of] the services for consideration paid or promised, or partly paid and partly promised, or under any system of deferred payment, when such services are availed of with the approval of the first mentioned person;

(e) "consumer disputes" means a dispute where the person against whom a complaint has been made, denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint;

(f) "defect" means any fault, imperfection or shortcoming in the quality, quantity, potency, purity or standards which is required to be maintained by or under any law for the lime being in force under any contract, express or implied, order or as is claimed by the trader in any manner whatsoever in relation to any goods;

(g) "deficiency" means any fault, imperfection or shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance which is required to be maintained by or under any law for the time being in force or has been undertaken to be performed by a person in pursuance of a contract or otherwise in relation to any services.

[(h)] "District Forum" means a Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum established under clause (a), section 7; and

(i) "goods" means goods as defined in the Jammu and Kashmir Sale of Goods Act, Samvat 1996;

(j) "government" means the Government of Jammu and Kashmir;

(k) "manufacturer" means a person who

(i) makes or manufactures any goods or parts thereof; or

(ii) does not make or manufacture any goods but assembles parts thereof made or manufactured by others and claims the end product to the goods manufactured by himself; or

(iii) puts or causes to be put his own mark on any goods made or manufactured by any other manufacturer and claims such goods to be goods made or manufactured by himself.

[(kk) "member" includes the President and a member of the State Commission or a District Forum as the case may be;]

[(kk) "member" includes the President and a member of the State Commission or a Divisional Forum as the Case may be ];

(I) "notification" means a notification published in the Government Gazette;

(m) "person" includes.-

(i) a firm whether registered or not;

(ii) a Hindu undivided family;

(iii) a co-operative society;

(iv) every other association of persons whether registered under the Jammu and Kashmir Societies Registration Act, Samvat 1998 or not;

(n) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made by the Government under this Act;

[(nn) "restrictive trade practice" means any trade practice which requires a consumer to buy, hire or avail of any goods or, as the case may be, services as a condition precedent for buying, hiring or availing of other goods or services];

(o) "service" means service of any description which is made available to potential users and includes the provision of facilities in connection with banking, financing, insurance, transport, processing, supply of electrical or other energy, boarding or lodging or both, [housing construction,] entertainment, amusement or the purveying a news or other information, under a contract of personal service;

(p) "State Commission" means a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established in the State under clause (b) of section 7;

(q) "trader" in relation to any goods means a person who sells or distributes any goods for sale and includes the manufacturer thereof, and where such goods are sold or distributed in package form, includes the packer thereof;

(r) "unfair trade practices" means a trade practice which for the purpose of promoting the sale, use or supply of any goods or for the provision of any services adopts any unfair method or unfair or deceptive practice including any of the following practices, namely:

(i) falsely represents that the goods are of a particular standard, quality, grade, composition, style or model;

(ii) falsely represents that the services are of a particular standard, quality or grade;

(iii) falsely represents any rebuilt, second hand, renovated, reconditioned or old goods as new goods;

(iv) represents that the goods or services have sponsorship, approval, performance, characteristics, accessories, uses or benefits which such goods or services do not have;

(v) represents that the seller or the supplier has a sponsorship or approval or affiliation which such seller or supplier does not have;

(vi) makes a false or misleading representation concerning the need for, or the usefulness of, any goods or services;

(vii) gives to the public any warranty or guarantee of the performance, efficacy or length of life of a product or of any goods that is not based on an adequate or proper test there:

(viii) makes to the public representation in a form that purports to be -

(i) a warranty or guarantee of a product or of any goods or services; or

(ii) a promise to replace, maintain or repair an article or any part thereof or to repeal or continue a service until it has achieved a specified result;

(ix) materially misleads the public concerning the price at which a product or like products or goods or services, have been, or are ordinarily sold or provided, and, for this purpose, a representation as to price shall be deemed to refer to the price at which the product or goods or services has or have been sold by sellers or provided by suppliers generally in the relevant market unless it is clearly specified to be the price at which the product has been sold or services have been, provided by the person by whom or on whose behalf the representation is made;

(x) gives false or misleading facts disparaging the goods, services or trade of another person.

(a) expressed on an article offered or displayed for sale, or its wrapper or container; or

(b) expressed on anything attached to, inserted in, or accompanying, an article offered or displayed for sale, or on anything on which the article is mounted for displaying or sale; or

(c) contained in or on anything that is sold, sent, delivered, transmitted or in any other manner whatsoever made available to a member of the public;

(a) a price that is stated in any advertisement to be a bargain price, by reference to an ordinary price or otherwise, or

(b) a price that a person who reads, hears, or sees the advertisement, would reasonably understand to be a bargain price having regard to the practices at which the product advertised or like products are ordinarily sold;

(a) the offering of gifts, prices or other items with the intention of not providing them as offered or creating the impression that something is being given or offered free of charge when it is fully or partly covered by the amount charged in the transaction as a whole;

(b) the conduct of any contest, lottery, game of chance or skill , for the purpose of promoting, directly or indirectly, the sale, use or supply of any product or any business interest;

CHAPTER II

Consumer Protection Councils

(a) the Minister In-charge of the Department of Food and Civil Supplies in the Government, who shall be its Chairman; and

(b) such number of other official or non-official members representing such interests as may be prescribed.

(a) the right to be protected against the marketing of goods [and services] which are hazardous to life and property;

(b) the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purify, standard and price of goods or services as the case may be so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices;

(c) the right to be assured, wherever possible, access to a variety of goods and services at competitive prices;

(d) the right to be heard and to be assured that consumers' interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums;

(e) the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of consumers;

(f) right to consumer education.

CHAPTER III

Consumer Disputes Redressal Agencies

[(a) a Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum to be known as the District Forum established by the Government in each district of the State:

Provided that the Government may establish Additional District Forum in any District.]

(b) a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission to be known as the "State Commission" established by the Government.

(a) the opposite party or each of the opposite parties, where there are more than one, at the time of the institution of the complaint, actually and voluntarily resides or [carries on business, directly or through a branch office] or personally works for gain, or

(b) any of the opposite parties, where there are more than one, at the time of the institution of the complaint, actually and voluntarily resides or carry on business directly or through a branch office or personally works for gain, provided that in such case either the permission of the [District Forum] is given or the opposite parties who do not reside, or carry on business directly or through a branch office or personally work for gain, as the case may be, acquiesce in such institution, or

(c) the cause of action, wholly or in part, arises.

(a) the consumer to whom such goods are sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or such service provided or agreed to be provided;

(b) any recognised consumer association whether the consumer to whom the goods sold or delivered or agreed to be sold or delivered or services provided or agreed to be provided is a member of such association or not;

(c) one or more consumers where there are numerous consumers having the same interest, with the permission of the [District Forum] on behalf of or for the benefit of all consumers so interested;

[(d) the Government, either in its individual capacity or as the representative of interests of the Consumer in general.]

(a) refer a copy of the complaint to the opposite party mentioned in the complaint directing him to give his version of the case within a period of thirty days or such extended period not exceeding fifteen days as may be granted by the [District Forum];

(b) where the opposite party on receipt of a complaint referred to him under clause (a) denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint, or omits or fails to take any action to represent his case within the time given by the [District Forum], the [District Forum] shall proceed to settle the consumer dispute in the manner specified in clauses (c) to (g);

(c) where the complaint alleges a defect in the goods, which cannot be determined without proper analysis or test of the goods, the [District Forum] shall obtain a sample of the goods from the complainant, seal it and authenticate it in the manner prescribed and refer the sample so sealed to the appropriate laboratory along with a direction that such laboratory make an analysis or test, whichever may be necessary, with a view to finding out whether such goods suffer from any defect alleged in the complaint or suffer from any other defect and to report its findings thereon to the [District Forum] within a period of forty-five days of the receipt of the reference or within such extended period as may be granted by the [District Forum];

(d) before any sample of the goods is referred to any appropriate laboratory under clause (c), the [District Forum] may require the complainant to deposit to the credit of the Forum such fees as may be specified, for payment to the appropriate laboratory, for carrying out the necessary analysis or test in relation to the goods in question;

(e) the [District Forum] shall remit the amount deposited to its credit under clause (d) to the appropriate laboratory, to enable it to carry out the analysis or test mentioned in clause (c) and on receipt of the report from the appropriate laboratory, the [District Forum] shall forward a copy of the report along with such remarks as the [District Forum] may feel appropriate to the opposite party;

(f) if any of the parties disputes the correctness of the findings of the appropriate laboratory, or disputes the correctness of the methods of analysis or test adopted by the appropriate laboratory, the [District Forum] shall require the opposite party or the complainant to submit in writing his objections in regard to the report made by the appropriate laboratory;

(g) the [District Forum] shall thereafter give a reasonable opportunity to the complainant as well as the opposite party of being heard as to the correctness or otherwise of the report made by the appropriate laboratory and also as to the objection made in relation thereto under clause (f) and issue an appropriate order under section 12.

(a) refer a copy of such complaint to the opposite party directing him to give his version of the case within a period of thirty days or such extended period not exceeding fifteen days as may be granted by the [District Forum];

(b) where the opposite party on receipt of a copy of the complaint, referred to him under clause (a) denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint or omits or fails to take any action to represent his case within the time given by the [District Forum], the [District Forum] shall proceed to settle the consumer disputes,-

(i) on the basis of evidence brought to its notice by the complainant and the opposite party, where the opposite party denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint, or

(ii) on the basis of evidence brought to its notice by the complainant where the opposite party omits or fails to take any action to represent his case within the time given by the Forum.

(i) the summoning and enforcing the attendance of any defendant or witness and examining the witness on oath;

(ii) the discovery and production of any document or other material object producible as evidence;

(iii) the reception of evidence on affidavits;

(iv) the requisitioning of the report of the concerned analysis or test from the appropriate laboratory or from any other relevant source;

(v) issuing of any commission for the examination of any witness; and

(vi) any other matter which may be prescribed.

(a) to remove the defect pointed out by the appropriate laboratory from the goods in question;

(b) to replace the goods with new goods of similar description which shall be free form any defect;

(c) to return to the complainant the price, or as the case may be, the charges paid by the complainant;

(d) to pay such amount as may be awarded by it as compensation to the consumer for any loss or injury suffered by the consumer due to the negligence of the opposite party;

[(e) to remove the defects or deficiencies in the services in question;

(i) to provide for the adequate costs to parties.]

(a) a person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court, appointed by the Government, who shall be its President;

[(b) two or more members who shall be persons of ability, integrity and having adequate knowledge of law and experience in law and consumer affairs:

(a) to entertain

(i) complaints where the value of the goods or services and compensation, if any, claimed exceeds [rupees ten lakhs] but does not exceed [rupees fifty lacs]; and

(ii) appeals against the orders of [District Forum] within the State; and

(b) to call for the records and pass appropriate orders in any consumer dispute which is pending before or has been decided by any [District Forum] within the State, where it appears to the State Commission that such [District Forum] has exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it by law, or has failed to exercise a jurisdiction so vested or has acted in exercise of its jurisdiction illegally or with material irregularity.

(a) in the case of an order against a company, the registered office of the company is situated, or

(b) in the case of an order against any other person, the place where the person concerned voluntarily resides or carries on business or personally works for gain, is situated,

CHAPTER IV