India's consumer courts struggle with empty Benches

India’s consumer-redress system is facing a structural crisis, which begins not with law or design but with empty chairs.

- BHAVINI MISHRA

The Consumer Justice Report 2026 lays bare a system in which vacancies, at both state and district levels, and the falling representation of women have hollowed out institutional capacity, slowing justice delivery and eroding consumer confidence.

The report, released by the India Justice Report (IJR), draws on right-to-information data and parliamentary questions to assess the state of State Consumer Disputes Redress Commissions (SCDRCs).

In state commissions, one in five positions is vacant, with some states reporting over 40 percent unfilled posts. More than half the SCDRCs do not have a full complement of presidents and members.

Despite a legal mandate under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, requiring at least one woman member in district and state commissions, compliance remains weak. The report noted that women’s representation in SCDRCs declined from 35 per cent in 2021 to 23.2 per cent in 2024, before rising to 29 per cent in 2025. Only Delhi and Sikkim in 2024 reported having a woman president on their state commissions.