TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (7) TMI 1656
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....sed by the Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (hereinafter referred to as „the District Commission‟) in Complaint Case No. 113/2022, which was filed by the Respondent No. 1 herein against the Petitioner herein. Vide Order dated 04.07.2023, the District Commission has refused to take on record the written statement filed by the Petitioner herein on the ground that the same was filed beyond the period of limitation. 2. Considering the fact that the Consumer Forums are Tribunals which are vested with the powers to determine conclusively the rights of two or more contending parties with regard to any matter in controversy between them and being a purely judicial Tribunal and the matter arising out of revisional jurisdiction of t....
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.... and indeed inadvisable to attempt to define exhaustively. The proper thing is to examine each case as it arises, and to ascertain whether the powers vested in the authority can be truly described as judicial functions or judicial powers of the State. For the purpose of this case, it is sufficient to say that any outside authority empowered by the State to determine conclusively the rights of two or more contending parties with regard to any matter in controversy between them satisfies the test of an authority vested with the judicial powers of the State and may be regarded as a tribunal within the meaning of Article 136. Such a power of adjudication implies that the authority must act judicially and must determine the dispute by ascertainm....
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....se on merits as well. 6. The facts of the case reveal that Respondent No. 1 herein filed a Consumer Complaint Case No. 113/2022 against the Petitioner herein before the District Commission on 19.09.2022. On 16.11.2022 summons was issued by the District Commission in the said complaint case. Admittedly, the summons was received by the Petitioner on 23.12.2022. It is stated that the documents received by the Petitioner on 23.12.2022 were incomplete. On the basis of the documents received by the Petitioner herein, a written statement was filed by the Petitioner on 31.01.2023. Though the Written Statement was objected to by the learned counsel for the Respondent No. 1 herein before the District Commission as it was filed beyond the time prescr....
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.... the total documents are 1-113, out of them complaint pages are from page-1-15 and remaining papers are annexures (page-16-113), it would not be possible that for the same weight of article the complaint was just sent to the OP1. It infers and proved the OP was served with the complete record, otherwise the OPs would have mentioned on whatsapp in annexures were not received. Neither in the annexures nor in the application it is mentioned about receipt of complaint papers only or the number of papers. Therefore, the plea of OP1 is not bona-fide, it had received the complete set but in order to gain the time the whatsapp message was sent, which was protested by the complainant also by response to it and also in order to justify the delay the ....
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....stal charges and came to the conclusion that complete set of documents was sent along with the summons and the same was received by the Petitioner on 23.12.2022. The District Commission, therefore, held that the application of the Petitioner herein for condonation of delay of seven days in filing the Written Statement is not bona fide. 10. This Court, under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution of India, is examining the present matter as an Appellate Authority and is exercising its power of superintendence. Even though the present Writ Petition is not a Writ of Certiorari, it is well established that even assuming that the instant case is one under writ of certiorari, then also the High Court does not sit as a Court of appeal and the C....
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....(2) Where the complaint relates to any goods, the District Commission shall,- (a) refer a copy of the admitted complaint, within twenty-one days from the date of its admission to the opposite party mentioned in the complaint directing him to give his version of the case within a period of thirty days or such extended period not exceeding fifteen days as may be granted by it;......" 13. A reading of the abovementioned Section would show that the period of filing a written statement after receiving the copy of the complaint is 30 days and the same can be extended up to fifteen days if the District Commission deems it fit to do so. In the present case, the summons was issued on 17.12.2022 and it was received by the Petitioner herein on 23.1....