Digital consumer courts by March

India’s consumer protection body is moving the dispute redressal mechanism online at the national and state levels by March end, two officials aware of the matter said.

- Dhirendra Kumar

The move to a digital platform is expected to benefit consumers, activists, non-governmental organizations, members of consumer courts, bar councils and advocates, and pave the way for more efficient and faster resolution of consumer cases.

The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA), which was formed in July 2020 and reports to the Consumer Affairs Ministry, is readying to roll out e-court services in all 35 state consumer dispute redressal commissions (SCDRCs) and 10 benches of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC), the people cited above said on condition of anonymity.

Queries sent to the consumer affairs ministry were unanswered till press time.