Motor accident compensation claims must go to the special tribunal, not the consumer forum, where the statute provides exclusive jurisdiction.

The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is a general consumer welfare statute, while Chapter XII of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 creates a special forum for compensation claims arising from motor vehicle accidents. A claim stemming directly from a fatal accident did not concern goods sold or services hired or availed under the 1986 Act, so the Consumer Commission could not be used to bypass the statutory remedy before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal under Section 165 of the 1988 Act. The National Commission's assumption of jurisdiction was therefore unwarranted, and the appeal was allowed.

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Issues: Whether the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission had jurisdiction to entertain and decide a claim for compensation arising out of a motor vehicle accident, when the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provided a special forum for adjudication of such claims.

Analysis: The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 is a general consumer welfare statute, while Chapter XII of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is a special scheme for compensation claims arising from accidents involving the use of motor vehicles. The claim in question arose directly from a fatal motor accident and did not relate to any goods sold or any service hired or availed of within the meaning of the 1986 Act. The proper forum was the Claims Tribunal constituted under Section 165 of the 1988 Act, and where such special jurisdiction exists, the general jurisdiction under the 1986 Act cannot be invoked to bypass the statutory remedy. The National Commission had not addressed this jurisdictional objection and its assumption of jurisdiction was therefore unwarranted.

Conclusion: The National Commission had no jurisdiction to entertain the claim for compensation, and the appeal was allowed.

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