21:12
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ISLAMABAD: As the independent judiciary has become the symbol of hope for the public at large, a less noticed aspect is the relief that people are getting from the consumer courts that are holding to account the big businesses and public sector departments for defrauding the citizens.
While many people complain about the excessive utility bills, very few know that they can approach the consumer courts for redressing their grievances and without the assistance of a lawyer.
A resident of Rawalpindi, Tahir Hamdani, moved the Consumer Court in Rawalpindi against Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) for billing much more that his domestic use of electricity. As further inquiry established the veracity of his complain, the IESCO was directed last month to pay him compensation to the tune of Rs500,000 besides proceedings against the IESCO staff responsible for this. Recently, the same court served notices on PAF Base Commander for non-provision of clean drinking water in the area.
The consumers can approach courts for lodging complaints and claiming compensation for substandard products, misleading publicity, over-charging and dissatisfactory services. They can also claim damages against defective products and dissatisfactory services.
Punjab stands out among the four provinces by setting up exclusive courts for this purpose where steady stream of complaints are regularly disposed of, granting relief to the public. Sindh in contrast does not have laws for the consumer protection whereas Balochistan has passed the legislation but stopped short of setting up any court. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), district and session judges have been given the additional charge for dealing with the consumer-related complaints as no separate court exists for this purpose.
The situation is similar in Islamabad where additional district and session judge has been given this charge. Given the load of criminal and civil cases, these courts cannot deal effectively with the consumers-related complains. The Consumer Protections Acts were introduced through Ordinances in all provinces in 2005. This followed the legislation from all provincial assemblies except Sindh. Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP), an NGO, is playing an active role in creating awareness and lobbying for the legislation. There are 11 consumer courts working in Punjab at the moment. The Consumer Court in Lahore has jurisdiction extended to Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib. Rawalpindi court covers Rawalpindi, Attock and Chakwal districts. The court in Gujrat is authorised to hear complaints from Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin and Jhelum districts and the Sialkot court has jurisdiction over Sialkot and Narowal.
The Bahawalpur court hears cases from Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalnagar districts and the Sargodha court from Sargodha, Khushab, Bhakkar and Mianwali districts. The Sahiwal court entertains complaints from Sahiwal, Pakpattan and Okara districts.
The jurisdiction of Multan court extends to Multan, Lodhran, Vehari and Khanewal and the court in Dera Ghazi Khan is authorised to entertain complaints from Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh and Layyah besides DG Khan. The jurisdiction of the Faisalabad court extends to Faisalabad, Jhang and Toba Tek Singh districts, he said.
The cases decided by the consumer courts have started making headlines, not regularly though. A consumer court in Lahore recently directed the Jadoon & Company Import and Export Customs Clearing and Shipping Agent to pay Rs40,000 as damages to the petitioner, Ahmed Nawaz, for not delivering a parcel to the UK.
In May, the same court passed the historic decree against a tracking company for its failure to help recover a stolen car and destroying relevant evidence. Shahid Aqeel, the complainant was granted Rs1, 509,430. In another case, Ali Hussain, a rickshaw owner moved the Lahore consumer court last month stating he bought a new rickshaw that turned out to be defective. The court directed the manufacturing company to replace the rickshaw in addition to paying Rs100,000 compensation to Ali Hussain.
A consumer court in Gujranwala recently issued notice to a restaurant on a suit seeking Rs1,000,000 in damages from the eatery for allegedly serving substandard food. Sialkot’s consumer court last year had issued an order to seize the bottles of Coca-Cola Company for using substandard beverage.
While many people complain about the excessive utility bills, very few know that they can approach the consumer courts for redressing their grievances and without the assistance of a lawyer.
A resident of Rawalpindi, Tahir Hamdani, moved the Consumer Court in Rawalpindi against Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO) for billing much more that his domestic use of electricity. As further inquiry established the veracity of his complain, the IESCO was directed last month to pay him compensation to the tune of Rs500,000 besides proceedings against the IESCO staff responsible for this. Recently, the same court served notices on PAF Base Commander for non-provision of clean drinking water in the area.
The consumers can approach courts for lodging complaints and claiming compensation for substandard products, misleading publicity, over-charging and dissatisfactory services. They can also claim damages against defective products and dissatisfactory services.
Punjab stands out among the four provinces by setting up exclusive courts for this purpose where steady stream of complaints are regularly disposed of, granting relief to the public. Sindh in contrast does not have laws for the consumer protection whereas Balochistan has passed the legislation but stopped short of setting up any court. In Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP), district and session judges have been given the additional charge for dealing with the consumer-related complaints as no separate court exists for this purpose.
The situation is similar in Islamabad where additional district and session judge has been given this charge. Given the load of criminal and civil cases, these courts cannot deal effectively with the consumers-related complains. The Consumer Protections Acts were introduced through Ordinances in all provinces in 2005. This followed the legislation from all provincial assemblies except Sindh. Consumer Rights Commission of Pakistan (CRCP), an NGO, is playing an active role in creating awareness and lobbying for the legislation. There are 11 consumer courts working in Punjab at the moment. The Consumer Court in Lahore has jurisdiction extended to Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib. Rawalpindi court covers Rawalpindi, Attock and Chakwal districts. The court in Gujrat is authorised to hear complaints from Gujrat, Mandi Bahauddin and Jhelum districts and the Sialkot court has jurisdiction over Sialkot and Narowal.
The Bahawalpur court hears cases from Bahawalpur, Rahim Yar Khan and Bahawalnagar districts and the Sargodha court from Sargodha, Khushab, Bhakkar and Mianwali districts. The Sahiwal court entertains complaints from Sahiwal, Pakpattan and Okara districts.
The jurisdiction of Multan court extends to Multan, Lodhran, Vehari and Khanewal and the court in Dera Ghazi Khan is authorised to entertain complaints from Rajanpur, Muzaffargarh and Layyah besides DG Khan. The jurisdiction of the Faisalabad court extends to Faisalabad, Jhang and Toba Tek Singh districts, he said.
The cases decided by the consumer courts have started making headlines, not regularly though. A consumer court in Lahore recently directed the Jadoon & Company Import and Export Customs Clearing and Shipping Agent to pay Rs40,000 as damages to the petitioner, Ahmed Nawaz, for not delivering a parcel to the UK.
In May, the same court passed the historic decree against a tracking company for its failure to help recover a stolen car and destroying relevant evidence. Shahid Aqeel, the complainant was granted Rs1, 509,430. In another case, Ali Hussain, a rickshaw owner moved the Lahore consumer court last month stating he bought a new rickshaw that turned out to be defective. The court directed the manufacturing company to replace the rickshaw in addition to paying Rs100,000 compensation to Ali Hussain.
A consumer court in Gujranwala recently issued notice to a restaurant on a suit seeking Rs1,000,000 in damages from the eatery for allegedly serving substandard food. Sialkot’s consumer court last year had issued an order to seize the bottles of Coca-Cola Company for using substandard beverage.
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