VINOD KUMAR Vs. STAN AUTOS PRIVATE LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment of the District Forum, Ferozepur dated 16.2.2006 by which the complaint of the complainant was dismissed.

(2.) The primary ground for non-suiting the complainant by the District Forum is mentioned in paragraph 5 of its order, which is in the following terms :

(3.) From the perusal of the complaint as well as the grounds of appeal, we do not find that there is anything wrong in the approach of the District Forum when it non-suited the complainant on the ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction. Learned Counsel for the appellant submitted that as per the second Proviso to Sub-section (3) of Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, the point of admissibility of the complaint has to be decided within 21 days from the date on which the complaint is received. Since, according to the Counsel, this was not done within the stipulated period, the complaint could not have been dismissed on the ground of lack of territorial jurisdiction. We do not agree with this submission. Simply because the question of admissibility is not decided within 21 days from the date on which the complaint is received, it would not mean that the complaint stands admitted and thereafter the question of territorial jurisdiction or for that matter even the question of limitation cannot be gone into. Apart from the fact that the aforesaid provision uses the words that ordinarily it should be decided within 21 days , we are of the view that even after the complaint is admitted, the Forum suo motu or on the objections being raised by the other side, can go into the question of territorial jurisdiction or of limitation. Mere admission of a complaint is no estoppel to the Forum to decide the question of territorial jurisdiction or point of limitation. The point of territorial jurisdiction goes to the very root of the matter and if a particular Forum has no territorial jurisdiction, it cannot be said that it has clothed itself with the territorial jurisdiction merely by admitting the complaint. As observed above, a point can also be suo motu taken by the Forum if later on it comes to the conclusion that it has no territorial jurisdiction.