https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=106378 Section 13(2)(a) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, prescribing 30 days to file a reply extendable by up to 15 days, was held to be procedural and directory, not mandatory. Since the provision imposes no penal consequence for filing beyond 45 days and does not create a substantive right in favour of the complainant to have the defence struck off, the Forum/Commission must exercise discretion on the facts, balancing the object of expeditious disposal with principles of natural justice. Where the Commission itself fixed a date beyond 30 days and the respondent filed the reply on the date so fixed, rejection of the reply merely for being beyond 45 days was unwarranted; the reply was allowed to be taken on record. en-us Mon, 08 Jul 2002 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 24 Dec 2025 16:22:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=106378 Section 13(2)(a) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, prescribing 30 days to file a reply extendable by up to 15 days, was held to be procedural and directory, not mandatory. Since the provision imposes no penal consequence for filing beyond 45 days and does not create a substantive right in favour of the complainant to have the defence struck off, the Forum/Commission must exercise discretion on the facts, balancing the object of expeditious disposal with principles of natural justice. Where the Commission itself fixed a date beyond 30 days and the respondent filed the reply on the date so fixed, rejection of the reply merely for being beyond 45 days was unwarranted; the reply was allowed to be taken on record. Case-Laws Companies Law Mon, 08 Jul 2002 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=106378