Consumer forum relief barred where garage charges dispute was already pending in civil court, making the issue sub judice.

A consumer forum's direction to hand over possession of a car was found unsustainable because the related claim for garage charges was already pending in a civil suit. The pending civil proceedings made that issue sub judice before the competent civil court, and the Consumer Protection Act was treated as not operating in derogation of other laws. The direction concerning possession in relation to the garage charges was therefore set aside.

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Issues: Whether the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission was justified in directing handover of possession of the car when the claim for garage charges was already pending before the civil court.

Analysis: The claim for garage charges was the subject of a pending civil suit and was therefore sub judice before the competent civil court. The Consumer Protection Act does not operate in derogation of other laws, and the existence of the pending civil proceedings made the consumer forum's direction on that aspect unsustainable.

Conclusion: The direction to hand over possession of the car in relation to the garage charges was not justified and was set aside in favour of the appellant.

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