Owing to the increasing level of awareness among consumers, the number of executions filed is on the rise.

The two UT consumer forums jointly witnessed as many as 137 executions in 2006. The number spiralled to 204 in 2007. Till October this year, 153 executions have been filed. The UT District Forum-1 has witnessed 63 executions till date, out of which 47 are pending.

Making full use of Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act, the court has issued arrest warrants in ten cases this year. In the remaining cases, the notices issued following the execution compelled defaulters to pay. While none has been arrested because in most of the cases, dispute gets settled once the warrants are issued. In rare cases, defaulter does take a stay order to evade arrest.

"The number of executions being filed has augmented. In almost 99 per cent of the cases, defaulters pay in the notice period for the fear of arrest. The procedure for penalisation acts as a deterrent and serves justice to consumers. More consumers should come forward to send the defaulters behind bars and set an example," said K C Gupta, President, UT State

Commission. "Most of the times, the defaulter gets scared once an execution application is filed. Most of the cases get settled then and there. The UT Consumer courts are functioning effectively," said advocate R K Bashamboo.

In one such case last month, the consumer court issued non-bailable warrants against Citi Financial as the company failed to return the cheques to the complainant in time. The general manager and the assistant manager of the company were sentenced to six years' imprisonment along with a fine of Rs 10,000 for non-compliance of the orders.

Last week, the court also sentenced Satyam Computer managing director to imprisonment of two years for failing to comply with its orders.

Ques What is Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act?

When a trader or a person against whom a complaint is made or the complainant fails or omits to comply with any order made by the District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission, as the case may be, such trader or person or complainant shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than one month but which may extend to three years, or with fine which shall not be less than Rs 2,000 but which may extend to Rs 10,000, or both.

Though the court can issue arrest warrants, the task of attaching property is tedious.

The consumer forum cannot directly attach properties of those not complying with their orders. To attach the properties of defaulters, the court may issue a certificate for the said amount to the collector of the district.

The collector will proceed to recover the amount in the same manner as arrears of land revenue. The procedure involves a lot of time and the process of recovery is tedious, say consumer experts.

Proposal to hike complaint fee

Harassed consumers seeking compensation at the UT consumer forums will have to shell out more money while filing their complaints in the near future. According to a recent proposal made at a meeting by the Presidents of State Commissions and Secretaries in charge, the prevailing fee under Rule 9 A of the Consumer Protection Rules 1987 is likely to increase. While no fees is being charged to seek damages up to Rs 10,000, those seeking compensation between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 10 lakh will have to pay Rs 500 instead of Rs 200.