Over 3.5 lakh cases pending in consumer courts: Govt

NEW DELHI: The government today said over 3.5 lakh cases are pending so far in various consumer courts and measures are being taken to clear the backlog.

"3,52,724 cases are pending in various Consumer Fora," Food and Consumer Affairs Minister K V Thomas said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha.

Of which, 94,330 cases are pending in State Commissions and 2,47,733 cases in District Fora, he added.

Maximum number of cases are pending in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat, as per the data submitted to the Upper House.

Thomas further said that the pendency in Consumer courts is due to various reasons such as a rise in number of cases following greater awareness, strict implementation of due process of adjudication, scope for multiple appeals and vacancy of incumbents in certain states.

However, remedial measures are taken to address the issue. The states have been directed to taken timely action for filling up of vacancies of President/members and to maintain a panel of candidates for filling up of future vacancies also to avoid delay in appointments.

Some state governments have constituted additional benches mainly to dispose off backlog of pending cases, while district, state and national commissions are adopting the process of holding Lok Adalat for speedy disposal of cases.

That apart, financial assistance has also been provided to strengthen infrastructure of courts, including computerisation and networking, he added.