JAGANNATHA PRASAD Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Petitioner was one of the opposite parties in a Consumer Complaint instituted by respondents 4 and 5 before the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Kottayam as C.C.No.1055 of 1998. The complaint was allowed by the Forum granting compensation to respondents 4 and 5, and the decision of the Forum was affirmed in appeal by the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission with a modification in favour of the petitioner. The petitioner as also respondents 4 and 5 challenged the decision of the State Commission before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, and in terms of Ext.P1 order, the National Commission affirmed the decisions of the Forum and the State Commission with a modification in favour of the respondents 4 and 5. The complainants thereupon instituted proceedings before the Forum for enforcement of the decision of the Forum and the said proceedings are pending. In the meanwhile, at the instance of respondents 4 and 5, the Forum issued a notice to the petitioner directing him to show cause why penalty in terms of Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (the Act) shall not be imposed on him. Ext.P10 is the notice issued to the petitioner in this regard. Ext.P10 notice is under challenge in this proceedings on the ground that it is one issued without jurisdiction.

(2.) Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner.

(3.) The learned counsel for the petitioner raised two contentions, of which the first one was that in the light of sub-section (3) of Section 25 of the Act, insofar as the order, the non compliance of which is alleged, is an order of the National Commission, proceedings under Section 27 of the Act can be initiated in respect of the same only by the National Commission. The second contention was that in terms of sub- rule (2) of Rule 15A of the Consumer Protection Rules, 1987 (the Rules), Ext.P1 order ought to have been signed either by the President or the senior-most member of the National Commission and the members of the National Commission who conducted the proceeding, and insofar as Ext.P1 order is not signed either by the President or the senior-most member of the Commission, the proceedings initiated in respect of the same under Section 27 of the Act is without jurisdiction.