Consumer Education & Research Centre

The Chairman of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi, Mr. Justice M. B. Shah, observed here today that there was need to make consumer fora more effective and functional. Appropriate jurisdiction is required to be conferred upon them by enacting a code for advertisement.

He added that unless the State Governments cooperate and pay enough attention to the functioning and efficacy of the fora, no new law for consumers would be effective.

Mr. Justice Shah was addressing the inauguration of a one-day Seminar on “Indian Code of Advertisement Standards (Draft), Proposed Law for Advertisement Standards Regulatory Commission (ASRC) and Pre-vetting of Advertisements Operating in Other Countries”. The Seminar was organised by Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), Ahmedabad, in cooperation with the European Union - Delegation of the European Commission to India, Bhutan, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

He said that the country is already equipped with a number of Acts but their implementation is often found to be difficult. The implementation of the proposed law will also take a long time. In response to the concerns about misleading, false or exaggerated advertisements, Mr. Justice Shah said that the Consumer Protection Act addresses most of them under the provision against unfair trade practices. The consumer fora can direct stoppage of such ads, payment of compensation and penalty for misleading, false or exaggerated ads.

On the pre-vetting of advertisements as operating in other countries, he said such jurisdiction can also be conferred on the consumer fora. Such pre-vetting could be exercised vis-a-vis advertisements on products hazardous to health. He added, however, that such additional responsibilities would entail additional members on the fora.

Striking a dissenting note on the Seminar theme, Mr. Justice Shah cautioned that the setting up of a new advertisement regulatory body “will take years”. He also expressed his reservations over the functioning and effectiveness of certain regulatory bodies and asked, “in how many cases has the Medical Council taken action against defaulting doctors or the Bar Council, for that matter, against advocates?”

Earlier, Mr. Justice D.H. Waghela, Gujarat High Court, said that there should be a sense of proportion regarding advertisements. Newspaper advertisements now occupied more space than news or views and the people were bombarded in the electronic media with repetitive ads. While many of the ads meet the ‘needs’ of the people, many others generate ‘wants’ leading to an increase in consumerism, one of the major causes of corruption, he asserted.

Mr L. Mansingh, IAS, Secretary, Union Ministry of Consumer Affairs, said in his Keynote Address that the Government was awaiting the report of a working group set up in the ministry to study the problems of misleading advertisements. It would also prepare a draft legislation. He added, however, that legislation was not a solution to the problem as many laws remained only on paper. It was implementation that was vital, he added.

The consumer movement should not remain dependent on the Government. He cited the magazine Consumer Reports in the US which sold nearly six million copies and greatly influenced consumers’ purchase decisions. Similarly, people should subscribe to and consult magazines such as INSIGHT — The Consumer Magazine, brought out by CERC, which conducts comparative testing of consumer products and publicises the findings through the media.

Meanwhile, the ministry would take a fresh look at the Consumer Protection Act and consider giving wider powers to the consumer fora. Since these fora were reactive organisations, acting on individual complaints, the country also needed a body along the lines of the Consumer Product and Safety Commission (CPSC) in the US, he said.

Earlier, Prof Manubhai Shah, Chairman Emeritus, CERC, said there was a need for a separate body to regulate advertising because consumer courts had too many cases on their hands. While they had to resolve matters in 90 days, it often took nine years. Just as we have the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and the Electricity Regulatory Commission, we should also have an authority for advertising. The US had a regulatory commission for almost every sector. We, however, have a long way to go, he said.

While ASCI was trying to discipline advertisers and the media, its directives were sometimes not complied with. Pre-vetting of ads was necessary to protect vulnerable sections of consumers. Advertisers should be made to issue corrective ads to wipe out wrong impressions from the consumer’s mind, he said.

Mr Sunil Parekh, former director, CII and Trustee, CERC, welcomed the guests.

Date : 21/04/2006 Pritee Shah
Place: Ahmedabad Editor Insight-The Consumer Magazine