Pendency of consumer court cases falls to 5.45L from 5.55L in Dec last

New Delhi: In a significant development, the number of cases pending in consumer commission has reduced to 5.45 lakh from 5.55 lakh in December last year. Besides, the government is planning to use AI-enabled solutions to cut pendency of cases.

‘The pendency in the consumer commission has shown a declining trend. The number of cases pending in consumer commission has come down from 5.55 lakh in December 2022 to 5.45 lakh in September 2023,’ it added.

The information was shared by the Department of Consumer Affairs during a day-long workshop on Consumer Protection in Andhra Pradesh, Andaman & Nicobar in Visakhapatnam. The workshop was organised by the Consumer Affairs Department in collaboration with Food, Civil Supplies and Consumer Affairs Department of Andhra Pradesh.

At the workshop, the main issues that were discussed include consumer protection framework, development & enforcement of standards, price monitoring & price stabilisation, and ensuring quantity through Legal Metrology Act 2009. The year 2023 witnessed a remarkable milestone with 1.36 lakh cases being resolved, surpassing the 1.26 cases filed reflecting a higher disposal rate. The Southern Region states have demonstrated commendable performance with most states achieving disposal rates higher than 100 per cent.

The Department of Consumer Affairs Secretary Rohit Singh praised the proactive steps taken by the president of NCDRC in resolving consumer disputes and marking the month of August 2023 with 188 per cent disposal rate.

The secretary further added that the department is working on using the AI enabled solutions to reduce the pendency of cases in the national, state and district consumer commissions.

The cases filed in the consumer commissions will be analyzed through AI and will generate the summary of the case and many more actions will be done through AI in resolving cases, he said.