In a boost to protection of consumer rights,Bombay High Court last week observed that penalty of imprisonment or fine for non-compliance with the consumer forums directive was applicable to interim orders and not just final orders. In matters pertaining to consumer protection, law must be interpreted in favour of the consumer, said the court. Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act states that any person or trader who fails to comply with any order given by the District Forum, State Commission or National Commission, will be imprisoned for a term not less than a month or fined up to Rs 2,000. Stating that Section 27 makes no distinction between an interim and final order, a division bench of Justice Ferdino I Rebello and Justice J H Bhatia said, To give protection to the consumer and to make the execution of orders effective and less expensive,which is the object of Act,and to provide for speedy justice, we see no reason why the provisions contained in Section 27 should be restricted only to final orders.
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(source-toi)
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