Statsguru: Six charts show faltering consumer protection in India

While pendency rates in consumer courts are better than the usual courts, an analysis found that one in five of the 2.5 million cases across consumer forums were pending

Ishaan Gera | New Delhi
Last Updated at January 15, 2023 16:52 IST

The recent Air India controversy has again brought to the fore the apathy towards consumer complaints in India. While pendency rates in consumer courts are better than the usual courts, a Business Standard analysis found that one in five of the 2.5 million cases across consumer forums were pending. Till December 2022, 20.5 per cent of the 106,088 cases filed at the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) were pending, whereas the pendency at 35 state and 637 district commissions was 22 per cent (chart 1). Last year was better as the disposal of cases was higher than the institution of cases at the NCDRC. But only three times in the past 16 years have more cases been disposed of by the national commission than were instituted during the year (chart 2). In terms of pendency, 10 states had a pendency rate of 30 per cent or higher. Jammu and Kashmir and Bihar had a pendency rate of over 50 per cent (chart 3).

TO READ THE FULL STORY, SUBSCRIBE NOW NOW AT JUST RS 249 A MONTH.

MONTHLY

₹ 249

Select

ANNUAL

₹ 1799

Select

Best Offer

SMART ANNUAL

₹ 1499

₹ 1799

Opt for auto renewal and save Rs 300

Select

What you get on Business Standard Premium?

Unlock 30+ premium stories daily hand-picked by our editors, across devices on browser and app.
Full access to our intuitive epaper - clip, save, share articles from any device; newspaper archives from 2006.
Curated newsletters on markets, personal finance, policy & politics, start-ups, technology, and more.
Pick your 5 favourite companies, get a daily email with all news updates on them.
26 years of website archives.
Preferential invites to Business Standard events.