A seminar was held at the bar council hall of District & Sessions Court Tharparkar at Mithi to create awareness about the Act 2014 enacted in connection with the protection of rights of general consumers. The Civil Judge & Judicial Magistrate and Presiding Officer of Consumer Protection Court Tharparkar at MithiImtiaz Ali addressed the participants, stating that the government has passed this law to protect the rights of common people, but due to lack of information people could not take full advantage of it.
He said the purpose of today’s seminar was to educate people about this law. He mentioned that under this law, every citizen has the right to demand a proper receipt when purchasing anything and if a consumer feels that a shopkeeper or company has charged more than the prescribed price or sold substandard goods, they can send their complaint to the shopkeeper or company in writing and if the complaint is not resolved within the period of fifteen days, the affected citizen can approach the consumer court, for which no fee is fixed and no lawyer is required. A claim can be filed by just applying on a simple paper. After filing the claim, the court after investigating the matter will resolve the issue with the consent of both the parties.
He said that in case of violation of the court order, the businessman or the company can be fined from fifty thousand to two lakh rupees or imprisoned for up to two years while both penalties can be imposed simultaneously. Apart from this, action will also be taken against the person filing a false claim, for which the citizens should be fully aware of this law so that the fundamental rights can be protected.He also urged the officials of the education department to provide information to the people about the benefits of this law so that the injustices done to the poor and backward people in terms of price, quality, rent or purchase can be remedied in time.
