The Supreme Court on Friday used its extraordinary powers under Article 142 to attract younger talent to preside over consumer courts by reducing the mandatory professional experience from 20 to 10 years.
In a judgment, a Bench of Justices M.R. Shah and M.M. Sundresh also introduced written exams and viva voce to check the candidates' performance.
Consumer commissions have the power of civil courts in many aspects.
The judgment noted that the government has proposed several amendments to the Consumer Protection (Qualification for appointment, method of recruitment, procedure of appointment, term of office, resignation and removal of President and Members of State Commission and District Commission) Rules, 2020. However, it did not want to wait for the law. Rather, the court said its judgment would fill the vacuum until the amendments were made in the 2020 Rules.
“We direct that in future and hereinafter, a person having bachelor’s degree from a recognised university and who is a person of ability, integrity and standing, and having special knowledge and professional experience of not less than 10 years in consumer affairs, law, public affairs, administration, economics, commerce, industry, finance, management, engineering, technology, public health or medicine, shall be treated as qualified for appointment of president and members of the State Commission,” the judgment directed.
The appointments to the district consumer commissions would also be made on the same criteria, the judgment noted.
The written test would have two papers on subjects like current affairs, the Constitution, consumer laws, drafting, etc. There would be a viva voce too.
