‘Will Appoint State Consumer Commission’s President within Six Weeks’: Telangana Govt to HC

The Telangana government has provided an assurance to the Telangana High Court that the vacant post of President of State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission will be filled within six weeks.

Senior Counsel Harender Pershad, representing the State, made this undertaking before the division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice T Vinod Kumar during the hearing of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Advocate Beglekar Akash Kumar, challenging the State’s inaction in filling the post of President in the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.

Senior Counsel Pershad, a Special Government Pleader in the case, informed the bench that a notification had been issued, and three names were referred by the selection committee. Responding to the court’s query on the timeline for the appointment, Chief Justice Aradhe asked for a timeframe. The senior counsel requested four weeks, but the court granted six weeks for the appointment. The State gave an undertaking that the post would be filled before the next date of hearing, which is September 6, 2023.

In the plea, Advocate Beglekar Akash Kumar, the petitioner, stated that the post of the President of the State Consumer Commission had remained vacant since the retirement of Justice MSK Jaiswal in February. The petitioner pointed out that though a notification was issued in December 2022 to fill the post, it remained unfilled.

Kumar argued that the State Consumer Commission deals with appeals and revisions from twelve districts across the State, and it also serves as the Court of Original Jurisdiction for claims with pecuniary value between fifty lakhs and two crores. He highlighted that a significant number of cases are filed in the Telangana State Consumer Commission each year.

The petitioner further mentioned that he had made representations to the Chief Minister of Telangana State and the Telangana State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission, but his representations had not been considered. Consequently, the PIL was filed to address the matter.