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Consumer courts cannot decide complaints involving highly disputed questions of facts involving tortious acts fraud or cheating

Consumer courts cannot decide complaints involving highly disputed questions of facts involving tortious acts fraud or cheating

Consumer courts cannot decide complaints involving highly disputed questions of facts or the cases involving tortious acts or criminality like fraud or cheating, the Supreme Court reiterated recently. It said that the concept of “deficiency in service” under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 must be distinguished from the criminal or tortious acts.

“The proceedings before the Commission being summary in nature, the complaints involving highly disputed questions of facts or the cases involving tortious acts or criminality like fraud or cheating, could not be decided by the Forum/Commission under the said Act. The “deficiency in service”, as well settled, has to be distinguished from the criminal acts or tortious acts. There could not be any presumption with regard to the wilful fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance in service, as contemplated in Section 2(1)(g) of the Act. The burden of proving the deficiency in service would always be upon the person alleging it”, a Bench of Justices Ajay Rastogi and Bela Trivedi explained.

“As emerging from the record, some disputes were going on amongst the Directors of the Company and one of the Directors, if allegedly had committed fraud or cheating, the employees of the bank could not be held liable, if they had acted bona fide and followed the due procedure”, the Court said.

According to the Court, the respondent-complainant miserably failed to discharge his burden to prove that there was a deficiency in service on the part of the Bank’s employees of the appellants-bank under Section 2(1)(g) of the Act. The Court proceeded to set aside the two orders passed by the Consumer courts.

The Chairman & Managing Director, City Union Bank Ltd. & Anr. Versus R. Chandramohan Civil Appeal No. 7289 Of 2009 SC

Decided on 27.03.2023

 

 

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