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Consumer protection is viewed from the view point of Consumer, business

The remedies are available as per the act are : 

• To Remove the defect in the product, 
• To Replace the goods, 
• To Return the price of the product . 
• To pay the compensation 
• Discontinue the unfair trade practice.
• Not to offer hazardous goods for sale ‘ 
• To seize the hazardous goods

Correct option is (A) High Court Judge

District Forum-Not exceeding 20 Lakhs

The role of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in consumer protection is explained as follows:

(1) NGOs organise campaigns and various programmes on consumer issues to create social awareness.

(2) They initiate and organise training i programmes for the consumers and make them : aware and conscious of their rights and various modes of redressal of their grievances.

(3) They publish journals and periodicals at regular interval to make the consumers understand and keep them informed about various consumer ) related developments.

(4) They provide legal advice free of charge to the members on the matters of consumer interest and help them to put up grievances before appropriate authority.

(5) NGO’s active members interact (communicate) with the businessmen and Chambers of Commerce and Industry for ensuring better deal for the consumers.

(6) They file Public Interest Litigation (Janhit Yachika) on important consumer issues like ban on a product or medicine injurious to public health. They also file cases in the court of law to safeguard the rights and protect the interest of general public.

(7) Few examples of NGOs working for the consumers are : Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI), Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE), Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), Consumers Association of India (CAI), Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP), Grahak Shakti (GS), etc.

Right to safety & Right to be information

National Forum-Exceeding 1 crore.

1. Composition: A National commission consists of a committee of 5 persons – a president & 4 member including one woman member, who are being nominated by the central government. For a term of 5 years.

2. Qualification: President should have the qualification to be of supreme court judge should possess bachelors degree & should have adequate knowledge & good experience in dealing with problems relating to Economics, commerce, Law, Accountancy, public affairs, Administration etc

3. Jurisdiction: It is empowered to receive such complaints Where the value of the goods & services & the compensation paid exceeding Rs.1, crore. The appeals against the order of any State Commission.

4. Redressal Proceeding: upon the receipt of the complaint, the National commission serves a notice to a opposite party referred in the complaint, such opposite party may be a seller, a distributer or a manufacturer, if needed the commission further sends the sample of goods for analysis and testing in a laboratory in respect of the defect raised in the complaint.

5. Remedy: if it is found that the product has some defect or there is some unfair trade practice, the commission can direct the accused to:

• Remove the defect in the product, o Replace the product, or 
• Return the price of the product so paid by the complaint, o Compensate the loss suffered by the consumer ,or ‘ 
• Discontinue the unfair trade practice etc…

Selection of goods & Awareness of right

1. Composition: A state commission consists of a committee of 3 persons – a president two member out of whom, one must be a woman who are being nominated by the state government for a term of 5 years.

2. Qualification: President should have the qualification to be of High court judge should possess bachelors degree & should have adequate knowledge & good experience in dealing with problems relating to Economics, commerce, Law, Accountancy, public affairs, Administration etc.

3. Jurisdiction: It is empowered to receive such complaints where the value goods & services & the compensation claimed is exceeding Rs.20 lakhs but less than Rs. 1 crore & the appeals against’ order of any District redressal Agencies.

4. Redressal Proceeding: upon the receipt of the complaint, the State commission serves a notice to a opposite party referred in the complaint, such opposite party may be a seller, a distributer or a manufacturer, if needed the commission further sends the sample of goods for analysis and testing in a laboratory in respect of the defect raised in the complaint.

5. Remedy: if it is found that the product has some defect or there is some unfair trade practice, the commission can direct the accused to:

• Remove the defect in the product, 
• Replace the product, or 
• Return the price of the product so paid by the complaint, ‘ 
• Compensate the loss suffered by the consumer ,or 
• Discontinue the unfairtrade practice etc…

Composition : 

Each District Commission shall consist of-

• President : A person who is or has been a .judge of a district court is appointed as president of the District Commission.
• Members : The number of other members shall not be less than 2 and not more than such number of members as may be prescribed in consultation with the Central Government.
• Tenure : President and every member of the District Commission shall hold office for a term of 5 years or up to the age of 65 years whichever is earlier.

Monetary jurisdiction : District Commission has the jurisdiction to entertain complaints where the value of goods and services, including compensation, if any, does not exceed Rs 1 crore.

The State Commission is subjected to the following jurisdictions: 

i. Monetary - A consumer can file a complaint with the State Commission in case the value of goods in question, along with the compensation claimed, is more than Rs 20 lakhs but less than Rs 1 crore. 

ii. Appellate - The case in which the party is not satisfied with the judgement of the District Forum can be filed with the State Commission. 

iii. Supervisory - Here, the Commission can call for records and release orders accordingly

(2) Composition : 

Each State Commission shall consist of:

• President : A person who is or has been a Judge of a High Court, shall be appointed by the State Government as the president of the State Commission in consultation with the Chief Justice of the High Court.
• Members : The number of other members shall not be less than 4 or not more than such number of members as may be prescribed in consultation with the Central Government.
• Tenure : Every member of the state commission shall hold office for a term of 5 years or up to the age of 67 years whichever is earlier.

Monetary Jurisdiction : To entertain complaints where the value of the goods or services and compensation exceeds Rs 1 crore but is not more than Rs 10 crore.

It is special purpose court mainly in India that deals with cases regarding consumer dispute and grievances.

A consumer may also be defined as “anybody who chooses goods and services, spend money to obtain them and used them to satisfy his or her own needs.

1. Composition: Each district forum consists of a committee of three persons. A president and two members out of whom, one must be women who are being nominated by the state government for a term of 5 years. 

2. Qualification: The president should have the qualification to be of a district judge and out of the two members one should be an eminent person from the field of education, trade or commerce with a bachelors degree. 

3. Powers: Each district redressal agency is being given the powers of that of a civil court for enquiring into any complaints.

4. Jurisdiction: The district redressal agency is empowered to receive such complaints where the value of goods or service and compensation claimed in is not exceeding rupees twenty lakhs. 

5. Redressal Proceeding: upon the receipt of the complaint, the agency serves a notice to the opposite party referred in the complaint, such opposite party may be a seller, a distributer or a manufacturer. If needed the agency sends the sample of goods for analysis and testing in a laboratory in respect of the defect raised in the complaint.

The National Commission is subjected to the following jurisdictions: 

i. Monetary - A consumer can file a complaint in the National Commission in case the value of goods in question, along with the compensation claimed, is more than Rs 1 crore. 

ii. Appellate - The case in which the party is not satisfied with the judgement of the District or State Forum can be filed with the National Commission. 

iii. Supervisory - Here, the Commission can call for records and release orders accordingly

A consumer is the final user of goods or services produced in an economy. He may be an individual, a household or even a group within an economy. In other words, consumers are all individuals who use goods with the approval of the seller; but, not for resale or commercial purposes. 

As per the Consumer Protection Act, a consumer is defined as follows: 

• Any individual who purchases any good for a consideration, which he has paid for or promised to pay; partly paid and partly promised or promised to pay in instalments. It includes all individuals who use the goods with the approval of the seller. However, those individuals who purchase the goods for the purpose of resale or for commercial purposes are not considered as consumers.

• Any individual who avails any service or hires a service for which he has paid or promised to pay; partly paid and promised to pay the remaining part. It includes all individuals who have availed the service with the approval of the seller and not includes people who avail services for commercial purposes.

The following are the rights of a consumer: 

i. Right to Safety - Every consumer has the right to be safeguarded against goods and services that are hazardous to his life, health and property. 

ii. Right to be Informed - A consumer has the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, price, ingredients, weight, etc., of the goods and services. 

iii. Right to Choose - A consumer has the right to choose from a variety of goods and services available at competitive prices; that is, he/she should not be compelled to buy from any particular seller. 

iv. Right to be Heard - In case of any grievance or dissatisfaction, a consumer has the right to file a complaint. 

v. Right to Seek Redressal - A consumer has the right to seek redressal and compensation in case of any exploitation.

The Consumer Protection Act was passed in 1986, by the parliament with the primary aim of protecting the consumers against exploitation and ensuring that their grievances are taken into care. The Act protects the interests of consumers against various forms of exploitation including defected products, unsatisfactory services and unfair trade practices such as black-marketing and hoarding. It also ensures speedy and inexpensive settlement of consumer disputes. 

However, if a product or service is rendered free of charge, then no complaint is entertained against such products or services. The Consumer Protection Act also provides a three-tier machinery comprising District Forums, State Commissions and the National Commission for the redressal of consumer grievances. 

Such a redressal system ensures that the consumer grievances are resolved in minimum time with no unnecessary delays. Hence, the enactment of the Consumer Protection Act is important for consumers.

Consumer protection refers to the measures taken against the manufacturers and sellers who adopt various means to exploit consumers for earning maximum profit.

According to Consumer Protection Act, “A consumer is a person who receives goods or services against an exchange. He pays or agrees to compensate partly or fully or promises to compensate on a future date or has participated in some future payment plan. Any user of the product or service who uses it on the basis of the permission of the purchaser is a consumer. But the one who purchases on a resale basis or for further production is not included under the definition of a consumer.”

Importance of Consumer Protection :

1. Seller dominant market : If the market is dominated by sellers then the consumer’s choice as well as his welfare gets the last preference. All the transactions are finalised in favour of sellers, middlemen and manufacturers, e.g. if there is shortage of goods then the buyer will have to buy a product at the price quoted by the seller. 

2. Ignorance of consumer : Ignorance of consumers about their rights, market conditions, price levels, product details, etc. result into consumer exploitation. Many times consumers do not even realise that they are being cheated. e.g. a shopkeeper may sell a product which is actually received by him as free sample. 

3. Tendency of the consumer: Majority of the consumers get attracted towards the products of cheap prices, discounts, various schemes, etc. This weakness of the consumers leads to their exploitation without their knowledge. 

4. Unorganised consumer : Consumers are neither organized nor united. Compared to them the producers and sellers are in a superior position. An individual consumer cannot fight against powerful traders. Thus, it is easy to exploit unorganized and innocent consumers. 

5. Nature of products : Now a days modern products are the end results of complicated production processes. It is beyond the capacity of poor and illiterate consumers to judge the quality or safety aspects of product. Moreover these consumers/customers cannot take legal help even though they realize that they are being cheated because they do not understand production process thoroughly. 

6. Lack of information : Today’s consumer lives in a complex world. Distance between producer and consumer is vast. It is impossible to establish direct contact between producer and consumer. After globalization and liberalization policy of the government, the market is full of domestic as well as imported products. But it is difficult for the consumer to get reliable information about the product before it is purchased. He relies on commercials of the product or on trial and error method. In both the cases chances of consumer exploitation are high. 

7. Lack of participation of consumers : It is observed that certain decisions, which directly affect consumers interest are taken without any consultation with consumers or their organizations. e.g. Charges of cooking gas, telephone, electricity, etc. Only a strong consumer movement can pressurize various organizations to allow consumer participation in the decision making process. 

8. Increase in consumption rate : Compared to earlier period, consumption rate is increased due to increase in population as well as tendency of the people to lead a comfortable life. It results into mass production, many varieties, increased prices, unfair trade practices, etc. Such a situation in the market confuses the consumers and they fall easy prey to exploitation. 

9. To restrict unfair trade practices : When more and more consumers start taking support of Consumer Protection Act (1986) to resolve their grievances then it will automatically pressurise the manufacturers, middlemen and traders for not conducting the trade by unfair means.

(A) Importance of Consumer Protection from the View Point of Business.
(B) Importance of Consumer Protection from the View Point of Consumer

The list of the functions of consumer protection is wide. The function of consumer protection is not only limited to only spreading awareness regarding consumers’ rights and responsibilities but also solving the complaints of consumers.

1. Importance of Consumer Protection from the view-point of Business:

• Use of Public Resources and Wealth
• Social Responsibility
• A part of the Society,
• Impression on the Society
• Consumer Protection is good for Business and
• Principle of Trusteeship and Consumer Protection.

2. Importance of Consumer Protection from the view-point of Consumer:

• Extensive Exploitation of Consumers
• Ignorance of Consumers (Lack of Information with Consumers) and
• Lack of Unity among Consumers.

1. Ignorance of consumers: Most of the consumer are ignorant and are not aware of their rights, hence a proper system is required to protect them against unfair trade practices.

2. Unorganized consumer: Consumer are not well organized, but producers and traders are well organized. As a result consumers are being exploited by the big business houses.

3. Deceptive advertising: Many business organizations deliberately cheat consumers through misleading advertisements about Quality, safety and utility of the products.

4. Malpractices of Businessmen: Businessmen indulge in malpractice such as adulteration and black marketing etc to maximize profit therefore consumers are exploited.

5. Freedom of Enterprise: For the survival and growth of business in the long run the business must ensure customer satisfaction so as to earn goodwill and support of consumer.

Online registration of complaints has been initiated by the ministry of consumer affairs to make filing of complaint easy.

• A consumer  
• The Central or State Government.

1. Right to Safety: According to this right, every consumer has right to be protected against. the marketing of goods and services which are hazardous to life and property.

2. Right to be informed: Every consumer has the right to be informed about the quality, quantity, purity, standards and price of goods so as to protect them against unfair trade practices. 

3. Right to choose: The consumer has the right to choose the product independently, their choice out of the available alternative products. 

4. Right to seek redressal: Every consumer has the right to seek redressal against any defect in the product or deficiency in the service.

5. Right to consumer education: Consumer must be educated against frauds, and about their rights and reliefs available to them in case of a product or service falls short of the required level.

With the Implementation of online registration, educated and technology friendly consumer will gain but in my opinion the unaware, ignorant and Simple consumers who still are far away from e-governance would stand in need of the 3 forums working efficiently and effectively Thus both the systems should work parallel, hand in hand to protect the interests of different types of consumers.

Responsibilities of a consumer:

(i) Be aware about various goods and services available in the market so that an intelligent and wise choice can be made.

(ii) Buy only standardised goods as they provide quality assurance. Thus, look for ISI mark on electrical goods, FPO mark on food products, Hallmark on jewellery etc.

(iii) Learn about the risks associated with products and services, follow manufacturer's instructions and use the products safely.

(iv) Read labels carefully so as to have information about prices, net weight, manufacturing and expiry dates, etc.

(v) Assert yourself to ensure that you get a fair deal.

(vi) Be honest in your dealings and choose only from legal source and discourage unscrupulous practices like black-marketing, hoarding etc.

(vi) Ask for a cash memo on purchase of goods or services. This would serve as a proof of the purchase made.

(viii) File a complaint in an appropriate consumer forum.

Non-government organizations.

Importance of 'Consumer Protection' from the point of view of business:

(a) Long-term interest of business: Long-term interest of a business lies in the satisfaction of its customers that leads to repeat sales and attracts other customers.

(b) Business uses society's resources: As a business uses social resources, it is bound to serve the society by using its resources through adoption of fair trade practices which ensures consumer protection.

(c) Social responsibility: Since consumers are a part of society, consumer protection is the part of its social responsibility to fulfill its social objective.

(d) Moral justification: Business ethics advocates adoption of moral principles in conducting business affairs. Then a business is required to adopt consumer protection as its moral duty.

(e) Government Intervention: To avoid government intervention in the business activities due to malpractices, a business should take government intervention as the first priority of protection.

A complaint before the appropriate consumer forum can be made by:

(i) Any consumer.

(ii) Any registered consumer's association.

(iii) The Central Government or any State Government.

(iv) One or more consumers, on behalf of numerous consumers having the same interest.

(v) A legal heir or representative of a deceased consumer.

(a) Long-term interest of business: Long-term interest of a business lies in the satisfaction of its customers that leads to repeat sales and attracts other customers.

(b) Business uses society's resources: As a business uses social resources, it is bound to serve the society by using its resources through adoption of fair trade practices which ensures consumer protection.

(c) Social responsibility: Since consumers are a part of society, consumer protection is the part of its social responsibility to fulfill its social objective.

(d) Moral justification: Business ethics advocates adoption of moral principles in conducting business affairs. Then a business is required to adopt consumer protection as its moral duty.

(e) Government Intervention: To avoid government intervention in the business activities due to malpractices, a business should take government intervention as the first priority of protection.

Consumer protection means protecting the consumers from unscrupulous, exploitative and unfair trade practices of a seller or a producer for maximising their profits. Consumer protection not only includes educating the consumers about their rights and responsibilities but also helps in getting their grievances redressed.

The importance of consumer protection from consumer's point of view can be understood from the following points:

(a) Consumer's Ignorance: In the right of widespread ignorance of consumers about their rights and reliefs available to them, it becomes necessary to educate them about the same so as to achieve consumer awareness.

(b) Unorganised Consumers: In India, consumers are not organised. Though we do have consumer organisation working in this direction, adequate consumer protection is required to provide power and rights to these organisations to protect and promote the interests of consumers.

(c) Widespread Exploitation of the Consumers: Unaware, ignorant consumers might be exploited by unscrupulous, exploitative and unfair trade practices like defective goods, adulteration, false and misleading advertising etc. Consumer protection provides safeguard to the consumers from such exploitation.

The importance of consumer protection from consumer's point of view can be understood from the following points:

(a) Consumer's Ignorance: In the light of widespread ignorance of consumers about their rights and reliefs available to them, it becomes necessary to educate them about the same so as to achieve consumer awareness.

(b) Unorganised Consumers: In India, consumers are not organised. Though we do have consumer organisation working in this direction, adequate consumer protection is required to provide power and rights to these organisations to protect and promote the interests of consumers.

(c) Widespread Exploitation of the Consumers: Unaware, ignorant consumers might be exploited by unscrupulous/ exploitative and unfair trade practices like defective goods, adulteration, false and misleading advertising etc. Consumer protection provides safeguard to the consumers from such exploitation.

Consumer Protection implies safeguard against anti-consumer trade practices of producers and traders.

Importance from point of view of consumers:

(a) Consumer's Ignorance: In the right of widespread ignorance of consumers about their rights and reliefs available to them, it becomes necessary to educate them about the same so as to achieve consumer awareness.

(b) Unorganised Consumers: In India, consumers are not organised. Though we do have consumer organisation working in this direction, adequate consumer protection is required to provide power and rights to these organisations to protect and promote the interests of consumers.

(c) Widespread Exploitation of the Consumers: Unaware, ignorant consumers might be exploited by unscrupulous, exploitative and unfair trade practices like defective goods, adulteration, false and misleading advertising etc. Consumer protection provides safeguard to the consumers from such exploitation.

The Indian legal framework consists of a number of regulations that provide protection to consumers. 

Some of these regulations are as under:

1. The Consumer Protection Act, 1986: This Act provides safeguards to consumers against defective goods, deficient services, unfair trade practices etc. 

2. The Contract Act, 1982: This Act lays down the conditions in which the promises made by parties to a contract will be binding on each other.

3. The Sale of Goods Act, 1930: This Act provides some safeguards and reliefs to the buyers of the goods in case, the goods purchased do not comply with an express or implied conditions or warranties. 

4. Essential Commodities Act, 1955: This Act aims at controlling, production, supply, distribution and price of essential commodities. 

5. The Agricultural Produce Act, 1937: This Act prescribes grade standards for agricultural commodities and livestock products. 

6. The Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954: This Act aims to check adulteration of food articles and ensure their purity, so as to maintain public health.

7. The Standards of Weights and Measures Act, 1976: It provides protection to consumers against the malpractice of under-weight or under-measure. 

8. The Trade Marks Act, 1999: This Act prevents the use of fraudulent marks on products and thus provides protection to consumers against such products. 

9. The Competition Act, 2002: This Act provides protection to the consumers In case of practices adopted by business firms that hamper competition in the market. 

10. The Bureau of Indian Standard Act, 1986: The bureau has two major activities: Formulation of quality standards for goods and their certification through the BIS certification scheme. The bureau has also set up a grievance cell, where consumers can make a complaint about the quality of products carrying the ISI mark.

Importance from business point of view:

(a) Long-term interest of business: Long-term interest of a business lies in the satisfaction of its customers that leads to repeat sales and attracts other customers.

(b) Business uses society's resources: As a business uses social resources, it is bound to serve the society by using its resources through adoption of fair trade practices which ensures consumer protection.

(c) Social responsibility: Since consumers are a part of society, consumer protection is the part of its social responsibility to fulfill its social objective.

(d) Moral justification: Business ethics advocates adoption of moral principles in conducting business affairs. Then a business is required to adopt consumer protection as its moral duty.

(e) Government Intervention: To avoid government intervention in the business activities due to malpractices, a business should take government intervention as the first priority of protection.

Importance of Consumer Protection from the point of view of consumer is as follows:

(a) Consumer's Ignorance: In the right of widespread ignorance of consumers about their rights and reliefs available to them, it becomes necessary to educate them about the same so as to achieve consumer awareness.

(b) Unorganised Consumers: In India, consumers are not organised. Though we do have consumer organisation working in this direction, adequate consumer protection is required to provide power and rights to these organisations to protect and promote the interests of consumers.

(c) Widespread Exploitation of the Consumers: Unaware, ignorant consumers might be exploited by unscrupulous, exploitative and unfair trade practices like defective goods, adulteration, false and misleading advertising etc. Consumer protection provides safeguard to the consumers from such exploitation.

 From the point of view of business 

(i) Long term interest of business: it is in the long term interest of business to satisfy their customers. Satisfied customers not only lead to repeat sales but also provide good feedback to prospective customers and thus, help in increasing the customer base of business. Thus, business firms should aim at long term profit maximization through customer satisfaction. 

(ii) Business uses society’s resource: Business organizations should supply such product and render such services which are in public interest and would not impair public confidence in them 

(iii) Social Responsibility: A business' has social responsibilities towards various stakeholders like investors, consumers, employees. Since businesses make money by selling goods and providing services, consumers form an important among the many stake holders of business. 

(iv) Moral justification: A business has the moral duty to take care of consumer's interest and avoid any form of their exploitation.

(1) The Consumer Protection Act came into force from 1986. Thereafter the Ministry of Law and Justice proposed new act in 2019.

The Act has for the first time recognised six rights of the consumer:

• the right to be protected against marketing of hazardous goods
• the right to be informed about the price and features of goods 
• the right to make a choice out of a variety of goods 
• the right to make a complaint against unsatisfactory goods 
• the right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices 
• the right to consumer education. All the above rights are in the interest of the consumer and not the seller.

(2) The Act has made provision for the establishment of Consumer Protection Councils at the central and state levels for promoting and protecting these rights.

(3) The Act has created a quasi-judicial machinery consisting of the District Commission, State Commission and National Commission to entertain complaints and to give fair justice to the aggrieved consumers. The Act prescribes punishment of imprisonment not less than one month which may extend to 3 years and a fine which shall not be less than ? 25,000 which may extend to Rs 1 lakh or with both for guilty person.

(4) The strict enforcement of these rights creates a competition among the sellers. Consequently, the consumers get quality goods at fair prices. The government has also adopted various measures for creating public awareness about the rights of consumers. Various programmes are shown on television channels as well as programmes are broadcasted by All India to educate consumers.

The role of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) in consumer protection is explained as follows:

(1) NGOs organise campaigns and various programmes on consumer issues to create social awareness.

(2) They initiate and organise training i programmes for the consumers and make them :

aware and conscious of their rights and various modes of redressal of their grievances.

(3) They publish journals and periodicals at regular interval to make the consumers understand and keep them informed about various consumer related developments.

(4) They provide legal advice free of charge to the members on the matters of consumer interest and help them to put up grievances before appropriate authority.

(5) NGO’s active members interact (communicate) with the businessmen and Chambers of Commerce and Industry for ensuring better deal for the consumers.

(6) They file Public Interest Litigation (Janhit Yachika) on important consumer issues like ban on a product or medicine injurious to public health. They also file cases in the court of law to safeguard the rights and protect the interest of general public.

(7) Few examples of NGOs working for the consumers are : Consumer Guidance Society of India (CGSI), Voluntary Organisation in Interest of Consumer Education (VOICE), Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), Consumers Association of India (CAI), Mumbai Grahak Panchayat (MGP), Grahak Shakti (GS), etc.

The responsibilities of the consumer are explained as follows:

(1) Consumer should use his rights : The consumers have many rights in respect to the goods and services they purchase. They must be aware of their rights while buying the products. They can use their rights if they are misled by advertisement or get faulty or defective articles.

(2) Cautious consumer : The consumers should be alert while dealing with the trader. They should be aware of their responsibilities while buying goods and services. Before buying any product or service, the consumer should make detail enquiry about the quality, quantity available, price, date of manufacture, expiry date, utility of goods and services, etc.

(3) Filing of complaint : If consumer has complaint about the products or services he has purchased, he should immediately approach the officer concerned and lodge complaints about the products or services. A delay in making complaints loses the rights and results in expiry of guarantee or warranty. If consumers ignore the dishonest acts of the traders, it may indirectly amount to encouragement to unethical business practices.

(4) Quality conscious : It is the responsibility of the consumers to buy quality goods. They should never compromise on the quality of goods. They should never buy inferior goods out of greed at lesser prices. For such behaviour of consumers, there is no protection. It is the responsibility of the consumer to ensure about the quality symbols like, ISI, AGMARK, Hallmark, Fruit Products Order (FPO), Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), etc. These are indicative of the good quality of the goods.

(5) Beware from exaggerated advertisement: The sellers always provide various information of the products or services through advertisements to buyers. Many a time they exaggerate the facts in their advertisements. It is the responsibility of the consumers to find out or identify the truth of advertisement and then buy the products, or services.

Some of the responsibilities of a consumer are: 

i. To be aware - A consumer should be well aware of the availability of various goods and services. This enables him/her to make an informed decision. 

ii. To be active - A consumer should always be active while making the purchase and look for fair deals along with verifying the certification marks before purchasing goods. These marks include ISI (in case of electrical goods) and AGMARK (in case of agricultural goods). 

iii. To protect environment - A consumer should take care of his/her surrondings, He should use environment friendly products and should ensure that the disposal of goods do not harm the environment around. 

iv. To work together - Consumers should promote and protect the interest of other consumers. They should educate them about the rights of the consumers and work together to form consumer organisations so as to attain consumer welfare. 

v. To ensure honest transactions - A consumer should always go for legal transactions and discourage illegal trade practices such as black marketing and hoarding. 

vi. To ensure safety - A consumer should carefully read the manual and instructions provided by the manufacturer so as to ensure safe use of the product. For example, instructions provided on electrical appliances must be carefully read before using them.

Responsibilities of Consumers are as under: -

1. Critical Awareness: -It is the responsibility of the consumer to be alert and question about the price and quality of the goods and services he buys and uses. Consumers should look, listen and ask questions. He should assess the value for money, value for people and the value for environment. 

2. Action: -It is the Consumer's responsibility to be assertive (selfconfident) and acts to ensure that he gets a fair deal. As long as he remains as a passive (inactive) Consumer he will continue to be exploited. When something is wrong, one should act to put it right. 

3. Social Concern: -It is the responsibility of a consumer to be aware of the impact of his use of consumer goods and services on the citizens, especially disadvantage and powerless groups whether in the local, regional or international community. He needs to make sure that the products and services he uses are not produced in an environmental that harms others. 

4. Environmental Concern: -The consumer should understand environmental and other consequences of his consumption. He should recognize his individual and collective responsibilities to conserve natural resources and protect the earth for future generations. 

5. Sustainable Consumption: -The Consumer, before buying goods or before availing services should satisfy himself about the need for the same and also should consume only up to his requirement and should not let goods or services go waste. 

6. Working Together: -A consumer should the responsibility to promote and protect the interest of consumers. One should organize consumers and make them work together for the welfare of all consumers at large.

Over and above these six rights, The United Nations Organization (UNO) has issued a directive recommending two more rights for the consumers.

1. Basic Needs
2. Hygienic Environment.

1. Basic needs:

This Right says that every person is entitled to basic needs such as adequate food, water, clothing, shelter and health care required for survival.

2. Hygienic environment:

• As per this Right, every individual has the right to get pollution-free air, water, food and land.
• Hygienic environment gives the person a good quality of life free from diseases.

(i) Rights of a Consumer:

• Safety,
• Information
• Choice
• Repre-sentation
• Redressal and
• Consumer Education.

United Nations Organization (UNO) has issued a directive recommending two more rights for the consumers. They are:

1. Basic Needs and
2. Hygienic Environment.

(ii) Responsibilities of a Consumer:

• Conscipus Use of Rights
• Beware of Misleading Advertisement
• Care during Purchases
• Solicit for a Bill,
• Solicit a High Quality
• Registration of Genuine Complaint
• Spread of Consumerism
• Environment Protection and
• No Involvement in Unethical Activities.

15^th march of every year is observed as consumers rights day all over world.

If we wish to have rights, we will have to take up some responsibilities. So, rather than just fighting about the rights, the consumer must undertake few responsibilities before buying a product and also while using it.

The consumer should undertake following responsibilities:

1. Conscious use of rights: The government has given several rights to the consumer. So, the consumer should be well aware about them and should also possess knowledge about the way to use them.

2. Beware of misleading advertisements:

• In the marketing world, it is quite often that sellers and producers publish or display misleading advertisement for promoting sales. For example, consumption of a specific product will boost energy instantly or will increase the height of person in a short span, etc. Such misleading advertisements are also quite common in children products.
• The consumer should use his wisdom while taking the decision to purchase such products. He should also compare that product with other and verify the claims in order to prevent being getting fooled.
• If the consumer finds that the claims of the product are false or if the product is different as compared to shown in the commercial then he should report about such advertisement.
• Attempt should also be made to stop showing such inappropriate advertisement.

3. Care during purchase:

• The producer or seller should never provide wrong incentive for the sake of selling the product.
• Consumer should not get enchanted by the claims without verifying the details of the product. He should emphasize on getting all the necessary information regarding the product such as name of manufacturing unit and address, quality, quantity, direction for use, expiry date, ingredients, manufacturing date, weight, guarantee or warranty period and other conditions.

4. Solicit for a bill:

• A consumer should always insist on getting the bill for the product he purchases.
• Bill plays the core role during complain redressal. If the purchased product is damaged or of a sub-standard quality or does not fulfill the desired characteristics, and if the consumer wants to complain to the Consumer Protection Forum, it is mandatory to submit the proof of purchase in the form of a bill.
• Apart from this, legally too every seller is bound to provide a bill to the consumer as proof of his purchase.

5. Solicit high quality:

• Today it is quite common to see adulterated, duplicate and sub-standard products in the market.
• Special emphasis should be laid to bring a permanent solutionfor such goods and services.
• The consumer should also confirm if the product has got quality control certificate and standardization mark. For example, one can look for ISI mark, ISO, mark, etc.

6. Registration of genuine complaints:

• If the consumer rights are violated in any form, the consumer should immediately complain to the concerned authority.
• Generally, consumers ignore minor problems or violation of consumer rights and do not bother to complain. This is not a good approach because the producer will keep on producing such products and harm others too.
• At times, consumers misuse their rights and claim much larger compensation for minor damages. This too is inappropriate.
• In short, it is the responsibility of the consumer to register genuine complains only.

7. Spread of consumerism:

• The act of promoting consumer protection at large is known as consumerism.
• Every consumer should take active part to promote consumerism. For this, the consumers should unite and undertake activities for spreading knowledge about consumer protection, the rights and responsibilities.

8. Environmental protection: It is the duty of every consumer to protect the environment. He can even make small efforts in this direction. For example, he should throw the waste in dustbins in order to prevent dirt and pollution.

9. No involvement in unethical activities: When consumer is purchasing something, he should not overlook legal aspects. For example, he should not involve in black-marketing, hoarding of goods or any such kind of unethical practices.

Conclusion: From this discussion it can be concluded that rather than simply claiming consumer rights, the consumer should first fulfill his responsibilities. Such an approach will automatically eliminate the use of many rights.

(i) In the above case, Right to Choose has been violated.

(ii) In India, the choices are available to consumers to select goods and different services like telecommunications, travel and tourism, banking, electronics, consumer goods, etc. According to right to choose, consumer should be given full liberty j to select an article as per his requirements, liking and purchasing capacity. The seller cannot force or compel the customer to buy specific product or service In this manner monopoly is avoided and j prevented.

(iii) According to the Right to be Heard, Mr. Ashok can lodge complaint to the consumer forum. Mr Ashok can also file online complaint through portal or mobile applications to the trader as well as to the appropriate consumer commission or forum.