L I C OF INDIA Vs. SHARAD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) HEARD the Counsel appearing for the Appellant. The Respondent is not represented before us by Counsel or by any other authorised representative. In our opinion the Counsel for the Appellant is well-founded in his submission that the proceedings before the State Commission, Uttar Pradesh at Lucknow, were wholly without jurisdiction since the claim put forward by the respondent in the complaint petition filed before the State Commission was only of the value of Rs. 39,196.90. Unfortunately the State Commission has not noticed this aspect and it proceeded to adjudicate upon the complaint which, going by its pecuniary valuation, ought to have been filed only before the District Forum. Quite apart from what has been stated above, a perusal of the complaint petition as well as the Order of the State Commission disclose that the grievance put forward in the complaint petition did not constitute a 'consumer dispute' as defined in the Consumer Protection Act and the reliefs claimed in the complaint petition could not have been granted by a Consumer Forum under Section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The State Commission has, therefore, acted wholly without jurisdiction in awarding any relief to the Complainant. This appeal is accordingly allowed. The Order of the State Commission is set aside and the complaint petition is dismissed. No costs.