FINAL REPORT

Report of Internship Training

CONSUMER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER

For the academic year 2018-2019

Prepared & Submitted By

Siddhant Raj (91801040002)

BA.LL.B (HONS) COURSE

1
Preface

This report is an outcome of the four weeks Internship programme of Faculty

of Law, Marwadi University for the students of II semester. The main
constituents are the report on fieldwork carried out during the internship, the
research on related issues/cases/matter and the weekly report of my work. I
have tried my best to do justice with my activities and put it in black and white
with the same effort as I did it during the internship.

Siddhant Raj

Date: 08.02.2019 Name & Signature of Trainee.

2
Acknowledgment

The internship opportunity I had with Consumer Education and Research Center (CERC)
was a great chance for learning and professional development. Therefore, I consider myself as
a very lucky individual as I was provided with an opportunity to be a part of it. I am also
grateful for having a chance to meet so many wonderful people and professionals who led me
though this internship period.

I express my deepest thanks to Mr. Abhishek Awasthi, my Internship Supervisor for taking
part in useful decision & giving necessary advices and guidance and arranged all facilities to
make life easier during the internship period. I choose this moment to acknowledge his
contribution gratefully.

It is my radiant sentiment to place on record my best regards, deepest sense of gratitude to Mr.
Taranjeet Singh, and Mrs. Meena Nair, from legal Department for their careful and precious
guidance, which was extremely valuable for my study both theoretically and practically.

On this note, I would express my deepest gratitude to the Faculty of Law, Marwadi
University for guiding me and providing me Internship at this esteemed organization and
lastly, I would like to thank my fellow interns who helped in every situation when I needed.

I perceive this opportunity as a big milestone in my career development. I will strive to use
gained skills and knowledge in the best possible way, and I will continue to work on their
improvement, in order to attain desired career objectives.

Certificate (Scanned Copy)

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4
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 Table of Content

Sr. No Subject Page No

1. Preface 1
2. Acknowledgement 2
3. Certificate 3
4. List of abbreviations 5
5. Executive Summary 6
6. Brief About NGO/Law Firm/Trial Court/High Court/Supreme 12
Court/Institution
7. Introduction 14
8. Project/Cases/Matters assisted/ undertaken/ observed 14
during the internship

9. Outcome of your learning and observations during the 15

internship

10. Relevant cases and laws referred and researched during the 16
internship relating to the matters and cases
11. Conclusion 17

12. Bibliography 18
13. Appendix 19
14. Annexure 25

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List of Abbreviations

SR. NO. ABBREVIATION FULL FORM

1. CERC Consumer Education and
Research Centre

2. SC Supreme Court
3. HC High Court
4. NCDRC National Consumer
Disputes Redressal
Commission

5. Sec Section
6. Art Article
7. CPA Consumer Protection Act
8. Hon’ble Honorable
9. EL Electrical Laboratory
10. NUJS National University of
Judicial Science
11. V. Versus
12. NGO Non-Government
Organization
13. CERS Consumer Education and
Research Society
14. CPR Consumer Protection
Reporter.
15. CPJ Consumer Protection
Judgement
16. Vol. Volume

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

OVERVIEW

I started my internship in CERC on 1st January, 2019 and the journey of 4 weeks in this
organization has been enlightening. Being able to get some real-life exposure in the field of
consumer protection has helped me in better understanding of the concepts of consumer
protection.

WEEK 1

In the first week, the major emphasis was on the complaints department (NON-LITIGATION
PROCESS). The first step in CERC starts with the complaint department where mediation is
used as an alternative to dispute resolution. I read and analysed multiple complaints which were
registered by the consumers.

The process in the complaint department is:

A) Send a letter to the opposite party

B) If they don’t reply, 2 reminder letters are sent to the opposite party.

C) If they reply, they are called for mediation and if not, the case is sent to the legal

department for litigation

D) If mediation is not successful, the case proceeds to litigation.

I got the opportunity to analyse 5 consumer cases (3 of National Commission and 2- Supreme
Court) and prepare a synopsis which included the facts, issue and the judgement of the case.
The cases involved medical negligence, Non-payment of insured goods, deficiency of service
and non-payment of claim by the insurance company.

Abhishek Sir believes that reading judgements is a good way of understanding the legislation
itself and it proved true for me.

WEEK 2

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In Week 2, we started with Legal Notices. Legal notice is the last warning which is given to
the opposite party. The notice states the facts of the case and provides the opposite party a
chance to fix the issue of the consumer or they will have to face legal proceedings. We also
visited in built laboratories of CERC. It consists of Food Laboratory and Electrical Laboratory.
Firstly, the Head of Electrical Department had an interactive session with us on the electricity
Act and showed us some faulty manufactured appliances. We visited the High Court and the
State Commission. I witnessed the court proceedings of Criminal court, division Bench and the
Court of Chief Justice of Gujarat. In State commission, we witnessed a proceeding where the
consumer represented himself in the court. We had an enlightening Interactive session one of
the members of CERC on the topic of Environment and plastic. My major take from this session
was the grading of the plastic from 1 to 7. We also visited the food laboratory, where we had a
session with the head of Food laboratory on the constituents of packaging of the food.

WEEK 3

After getting acquainted with the structure of the complaint we were given an ongoing case file
and asked to draft a complaint for it and depending how well we drafted it was to be submitted
into the state commission. There were 2 mediation sessions of which we were a part of and
understood the whole process and the way in which they conduct the mediation. We were
divided into a group of 5 people each and were asked to conduct surveys and make necessary
conclusions from the data acquired. For that we had to make a questionnaire which would be
having questions pertaining to Consumer Awareness. We 5 members were also allotted legal
research work by the head of electrical appliances laboratory to fill a questionnaire which
had16 questions pertaining to Electricity Act,2003

WEEK 4

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In week 4, I concentrated on the projects given to us by CERC. In a group of 3, We made a
questionnaire on Consumer awareness. The response was staggering, we got 151 responses and
then we interpreted the responses. The major conclusion we observed was that 33% of the
people didn’t know about Consumer rights and about CERC. This shows a need for Consumer
Awareness in the Indian Society. There were 10 questions and the age group ranged from 15
to 25. We were given a questionnaire of 16 questions by the EL. I also completed my project
on Misleading Advertisement.

Descriptions of Laws Learnt/dealt with: -

10
 As I was interning at an NGO which works mainly for Consumer Protection, we mainly
had to dealt with the laws mentioned in the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.
Following are some of the sections which I learnt during my internship at CERC :-

 Sec. 2(c), Provisions for filing a Complaint.

 Sec. 2(d), Definition of a Consumer.
 Sec. 14, Findings of District Forum.
 Sec. 15, 19, 23, Appeals for State Commission, National commission and the
Supreme Court of India.
 Sec. 11, 17, 21, Pecuniary and territorial Jurisdiction of District Forum, State
and National Commission.
 Sec. 24(A), Limitation Period
 Sec. 6, Rights of Consumers
 Unfair Trade Practice
 Misleading Advertisements
 Food & Packaging related Laws

Learning Outcome

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 In the very first week of our internship we learnt how to make Legal Notice which I
think is an utmost important thing because either your complaint will get resolved at
that stage per se or you will have to take another course for getting an amicable solution.

 In the second week we were made to learnt how to draft a Legal Complaint for filing it
in the Courts which is also an important step if done effectively one can win half of the
case there only.

 We also learnt the Process of how the CERC works that is after receiving a Complaint
they send a first letter through mail to the respondent asking for a reply in two weeks
of time and if not getting any reply in return they even send a reminder letter asking for
a reply in two weeks of time and if not then they’ll use the legal recourse which
according to them should be the last resort to use because they believe that through
Mediation each and every complaint can be solved and an amicable solution can be
achieved easily.

 We also learned about the types of plastics used in different products and also
identifying the type through different symbols embedded on it.

 We had multiple interactive sessions on different topics:-

 CERC Envis- Environment

 Misleading Advertisements
 Consumer Club and consumer legal advice

 In Misleading Advertisements Session we learnt about the regulatory bodies like ASCI
in which certain rules and regulations are given for advertising your product.

 We did a survey on Consumer Behavior and based on the data we made the
interpretation and came to some conclusions which revealed the consumer behavior.

 CERC has an in- house Food Laboratory & Electricity Appliances Laboratory where
we were shown certain experiments which will be helpful to us in future while
purchasing alike products.

 Lastly, we read different types of Cases filed which are either solved or still pending,
that gave us an upper hand compared to the other consumers because we will be more

12
cautious while doing alike transactions and remain safe from such exploitation of the
consumers.

Analysis of Final Report

A Brief of Consumer Education Research Centre (CERC)

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C.E.R.C. was set up in 1978. It is a non-political, non-profit and non-government
organization. The campus area of C.E.R.S. is spread over 10000 sq. m. and has
staff strength of 53. Main area of work of NGO is educating consumers and
empowering them by the effective use of media, law and education. The three main
goals of the NGO is 1) to educate the consumers 2) to help them protect themselves
through making them aware about their rights 3) make the goods and services
providers accountable.

Various activities are undertaken by the NGO. It includes comparative testing of

products, complaints handling, legal advice and litigation, consumer education
and awareness programme, library and information service, publication,
advocacy, environment protection.

An in-house laboratory is also built which tests the quality of various products
varying from food products to cosmetics and electrical appliances. The reports of
test results which are conducted by the laboratory are published in the national
bimonthly magazine ‘INSIGHT- THE CONSUMER MAGAZINE’. It also
published the same in Hindi language under the head ‘GRAHAK SATHI’.

The NGO has been working for 37 years in the field of consumer protection and
awareness

Project/Cases/Matters assisted/ undertaken/ observed during the

internship

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 Legal notices, (Annexure A)

 Legal Complaint, (Annexure B)

 5 Case Synopsis, (Annexure C)

 Survey on Consumer Awareness. (Annexure D)

 Project on Misleading Advertisements. (Annexure E)

General Observations

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General observation made by me during the internship period are as follows-

 There is a certain kind of procedure which is needed to be followed when case comes
to the NGO. This included writing an informal complaint, sending a message with the
complaint to the opposite party, sending first notice to the opposite party and finally
asking the opposite party to compensate the aggrieved person in order to avoid any
legal proceedings.

 The NGO has divided itself into various sections facilitation of the persons. The various
sections of the NGO are

 Complaints Department

 Legal Department

 Consumer Awareness Department

 Department for environment awareness etc.

 While breaking the judgments and also while reading the complaints the type of
consumer disputes came into the light and the most common were the problems of
telecommunication and insurance claims. Cases of Failure of allotting residential land
were also seen and also the cases of medical negligence were seen.

 Most of the cases are solved without the need of legal involvement by the process of
settlement and arbitration.

 There are times when the consumer is not correct or by fraudulent means tries to extract
money. Therefore the main aim of the arbitration carried out by the NGO is justice and
not compensation of the consumer.

 The NGO has also a separate branch concerning the environment literacy. This branch
carried activities of educating the consumers on the consistent use of eco-friendly
products.

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 As per the experts of NGO the consumer protection act has become very old and is not
able to solve every problem arising in the society. For instance the problem of
jurisdiction on online sale of goods..

 The in-house laboratory which was built does a remarkable job in testing various food
articles in case there is a complaint of any adulteration in the food.

 There is also a laboratory for testing the electrical appliances.

 While drafting the complaint certain format has to be observed. The complaint should
include the cause of action and limitation and various other things.

Relevant cases and laws referred and researched during the

internship relating to the matters and cases

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 CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT:-

 Sec. 2(d), Definition of the Consumer

 Sec. 14, Findings of the District Forum

 Sec. 15, 19, 23, Appeals

 Sec. 24(A), Limitation Period

Cases Referred: -

 Devraj Sharma & ANR vs. KLM North West Airlines.1

 Pradeep Sharma vs. Chief Administrator Haryana Urban Dev. Authority & ANR.2

 Honda seil cars India Ltd. & ANR vs. Abdul K. Rubb.3

 Sheela Hibra Naik Gaunekar vs. Apollo Hospitals Ltd.

 Force Motors Ltd. Th. ITS Authorized, Signatory vs. DPS Section School, Th.

Manager, & ANR.4

Conclusion

This internship in C.E.R.C. helped me in knowing the real problems of the consumers and how
they are handled by the NGO. This internship has been a big learning curve for me. Practical
exposure, Theoretical knowledge and the opportunity to work with Abhishek Sir, Taranjeet Sir

1
Devraj Sharma & ANR vs. KLM North West Airlines. I (2014) CPJ 85 (NC)
2
Pradeep Sharma vs. Chief Administrator Haryana Urban Dev. Authority & ANR. 2016 (1) CPR 111 (SC)
3
Honda seil cars India Ltd. & ANR vs. Abdul K. Rubb. I (2014) CPJ 52
4
Force Motors Ltd. Th. ITS Authorized, Signatory vs. DPS Section School, Th. Manager, & ANR. 2014 (4) CPR 495 (NC)

18
and Meena ma’am has helped me in better understanding of Consumer protection and in
gaining experience in the field of litigation.This internship has been a tremendous journey for
me. Firstly, I got the opportunity to work in CERC and secondly, I was able to apply the
theoretical knowledge that I gained in the college, in real life. Not only I drafted legal notices
and complaints for the cases that were already settled, but I got the opportunity to draft these
for some pending cases. Taranjeet Sir guided me on these cases on how can I make these drafts
more effective and persuasive. I hope that I get a chance to work with CERC in the future. The
Legal department has been so kind towards us and every member has helped us in our
difficulties. I consider CERC and my fellow interns as a part of my family and I surely will
miss sitting in the cubicle and reading Consumer complaint files. I can surely say that my
expectations from this internship were fulfilled. I got the opportunity to visit the High Court
and the State commission. This is the 1st time that I visited a Court and it was a wonderful
experience. I visited the CERC electrical laboratory and food laboratory. I was assigned
multiple projects which kept me

During the internship, the biggest revelation for me was that many people were not aware about
Consumer rights and the institutions like CERC which work for consumer protection. I will
give my best to spread this awareness to as many people and I will give my best to keep working
further in the field of consumer protection and stay connected with CERC

Bibliography

1. https://cercindia.org/
2. Bare Act of Consumer Protection Act

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3. CPR Vol. 1 2014
4. CPR Vol. 3 2016
5. CPJ Vol. 1 2014
6. CPJ Vol. 1 2014

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Appendix

Weekly Report- I

21
Sr. No. Dates of Week Nature of Work Learning Remarks
done Outcome
1 01.01.2019 Case analysis Able to know I have read
(Tuesday) and that what is the more than 2
observation of whole Files which
Successful Procedure to includes 10-15
(Consumer file a complaint Complaints
Complaint) and How
files complaint
department
works
2 02.01.2019 Case analysis Able to know I have study
(Wednesday) and That what are one Pending
observation of the file which
Pending circumstances includes more
(Consumer included in a than 100
Complaint) pending Pending cases
files complaint and
what is the next
procedure to
make a pending
complaint
successful
3 03.01.2019 Make synopsis By reading I have studied
(Thursday) by reading whole case I’m 03 (National
judgments of able to learn commission
(NC) National that how to cases) from
commission find out issues Consumer
and ratio in a protection act,
particular case Judgments
(CPJ 2014-
2013)
4 04.01.2019 Make synopsis By reading I have studied
(Friday) by reading whole case I’m 02 (Supreme
judgments of able to learn Court cases)
(SC) that how to from Consumer
find out issues protection act,
and ratio in a Judgments
particular case (CPJ 2014-
2013)

Weekly Report – II

22
Sr. No. Dates
Dates of Week
of Week Nature of work
Nature of Learning Learning Remarks Remarks
donework done Outcome Outcome
1 07.01.2019
14.01.2019 Studied able to know I have drafted
(Monday)
(Monday) Successful that what does Legal notice
2 15.01.2019 Legal Notice & Legal Notice against
(Tuesday) Drafted A means and how reliance, in
3 16.01.2019 Legal NoticeDrafted to
a draftAble
a Legal
to know which The a
(Wednesday) complaint Notice what consumer was
mediation
complaint isovercharged
sessionbywas
Attended a and how it can Rs.great 5/- and
2 08.01.2019 Studied Facts
mediationable to know
be drafted I have drafted
both the
(Tuesday) of an ongoing that how to find A legal
session with Notice
parties settled
case the
andaggrievedFacts andto know
Able for A refund
down.of
Drafted a Legal
party drafted a Fresh
what does money
Notice
(Contractor Legal Noticeterm expenses
3 09.01.2019 vs. house able to“Mediation”
Visited High know I have saw
(Wednesday) Court owner) the decorum means three types of
and cases,
4 17.01.2019 We made a proceedings of
Able to know Criminal, Civil
NIL.
(Thursday) survey in High Court
a bit more & Petitions
4 10.01.2019 Attended a of 5Able to know
group about NIL.
(Thursday) Lecturepersons,
on that
on how many
consumer
ENVISconsumer types of because
rights
(Environment
awareness.plasticsofare survey
Information there and conduct
what
System) are the different
We started
reading marks Ableforto know
And Visited productsagiven
Electricity nit about
FoodAct till part
by government
Electricity
Laboratory VI Act.
And able to
Attendedknow that how
anotherand what to see
mediation in a food
session with packets
5 11.01.2019 Visitedthe
state Able to know
aggrieves NIL.
(Friday) commission parties that how
consumer
And attended a disputes are
5 18.01.2019 lectureWe
on searched resolved
Able to know NIL.
(Friday) ConsumerConsumer
Club about
related consumer
provision related
mentioned in provisions in

23
 Electricity Electricity
Act, 2003 Act.

And
Amended the
survey and
convert it into
digital form
through
Google
Forms.

24
 Weekly Report- IV

Sr. No. Dates of Week Nature of work Learning Remarks

done Outcome
1 21.01.2019 Filed a Able to know NIL.
(Monday) Questionnaire some questions
on electricity related to
Act made by electricity Act.
Electricity Lab.
2 22.01.2019 Made a Able to know NIL.
(Tuesday) questionnaire that, How
on Consumer many people
Awareness in a are actually
group of 5 aware about
persons consumer
related issues.
3 23.01.2019 Made the NIL.
(Wednesday) abstract for the Able to know
Electricity Act, some basic
2003. laws related to
consumers
4 24.01.2019 Completed the Able to know a NIL.
(Thursday) Project assigned bit more about
to us, and my consumer
topic is rights because
Misleading of survey
Advertisement. conduct

Able to know a
nit about
Electricity Act.
5 25.01.2019 Started the NIL. NIL.
(Friday) Interpretation of
the 151
Responses of
Questionnaire
made by us.
6 28.01.2019 Completed the NIL. Last day of
(Monday) Interpretation Internship
and submitted
to the Cerc.

25
Annexure – A
(Legal Notice)

26
 Legal Notice by Registered A.D.

CERS/Law/AVA/ 103 Date: 10th December 2017

To,
The Manager (Customer Care)
Reliance fresh
Reliance Retail Ltd.
Ahmedabad,
Gujarat

Sub:- Legal Notice for overcharging the product amount from one of our member Mr.
Sandeep Sharma.

Sir,

1. Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS) Is a registered society under the
Societies Registration Act (XXI) of 1860. It is also a Public Charitable Trust under the
Bombay Public Trust Act. The society was Registered on 15th December, 1986. The
society is mainly devoted to the promotion and protection of consumer interest through
complaint handling, publication, Legal research , media and effective uses of legal
processes. It also undertakes research investigation into various consumer problems in
different fields.

2. Under the instructions and on behalf of our member Mr. Sandeep Sharma (herein after
referred as complainant’), Residing at Ahmedabad, Gujarat, We hereby serve upon you
the following legal notice :

3. The complainant has purchased Total items worth Rs. 1703/- from Reliance fresh store
at Bodakdev, Ahmedabad, on May 15th ,2014. & one of the item was Safal Frozen Mix
Veg pack Worth Rs, 50/- as written on MRP of the packet, while Reliance fresh is
charging Rs. 55/-, For the item (Invoice No. C4860, CIN No.
U01100MH1999PLC120563).

4. That being aggrieved by the aforesaid overcharging the price of the product, the
complainant approached to Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS) on
09.07.2014.

5. You are aware that this amount is violation of consumer protection act, 1986 and for
this instance, refund of Rs 5/- is not sufficient for Mr. Sandeep sharma

6. And further you are liable to pay Rs 1000/- for Legal Notice and Incidental charges of
Rs/- 1500, which our member has incurred in this connection

27
 7. We hereby call upon you to immediately make good the payment of the amount
specified in point No. 6 & 7 herein above to amounting to Rs. 2,505/- (Two Thousand
Five Hundred and Five Only) failing which we will be constrained to initiate further
legal action and proceedings against you before appropriate legal authority/ Court of
law, more particularly under the Consumer Protection Act and other allied consumer
Laws

Copy to,

Mr. Sandeep Sharma

C-12 Imperial Heights,
Ahmedabad 380 054
Gujarat

28
 Legal Notice by Registered A.D.

CERS/Law/AVA/ 103 Date: 15th December 2018

To,
The Senior Manager
(Customer Service)
Air India Ltd.
Nr. Nehru Bridge,
Lal Darwaja,
Ahmedabad- 380001
Gujarat

Sub:- Legal Notice for Refund for Loss of Money/ Expenses Incurred and claim for
damages and Mental Harassment due to having missed the Journey due to Delay of flight

1. Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS) Is a registered society under the
Societies Registration Act (XXI) of 1860. It is also a Public Charitable Trust under the
Bombay Public Trust Act. The society was Registered on 15th December, 1986. The
society is mainly devoted to the promotion and protection of consumer interest through
complaint handling, publication, Legal research , media and effective uses of legal
processes. It also undertakes research investigation into various consumer problems in
different fields.

2. Under the instructions and on behalf of our member Mr. Nisarg. B. Soni (herein after
referred as complainant’), Residing at F-201 Abhiyam Apartment, Nr. St. Xaviers
Loyola school Navrangpura Ahmedabad-13, Gujarat, We hereby serve upon you the
following legal notice :

3. The complainant had booked the flight tickets from ‘Air India’ to travel from
Ahmedabad to Singapore on 22nd Feb. 2018 and return for the same on date. 3rd March.
2018. Mr. Nisarg. B. Soni gets an update from the Airline (Air India) In the month of
December 2017 regarding the schedule/timing change in departure of flight due to delay
of the flight from Ahmedabad to Delhi which results Mr. Nisarg. B. Soni in missing the
flight from Delhi to Singapore, Which forced them to cancel their cruise journey from
Singapore and a financial loss of Rs. 35600/- (Thirty Five Thousand Six Hundred Only)

Copy To,
Mr. Nisarg. B. Soni
F-201 Abhiyam Apartment,
Nr. St. Xaviers Loyola school
Navrangpura Ahmedabad-13

29
Annexure – B
(Legal Notice)

30
 Legal Complaint

BEFORE THE HON’BLE CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM

AT AHMEDABAD

Complaint No. ______ Of 2019

1. Consumer Education & Research Society

“Suraksha Sankool”
S.G Highway, Thaltej
Ahmedabad-380 054 …Complainant No. 1

2. Mr. Narendra K. Kamdar

3- Bhavik Society
Opp. Fatehpura, Paldi
Ahmedabad-380 007 …Complainant No. 2

Versus

1. The Manager
Neesa Leisure Ltd.
The Cambay Grand
Near AUDA Sports Complex
Off S.G. Road, Thaltej
Ahmedabad-380054 …Opposite party No. 1

The complaint under The Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and Rules framed
there under:

To,
The Hon’ble President
And Other Hon’ble Members
The Consumer Forum
31
The humble complaint of the Complainants above named

Most Respectfully Sheweth:

1. That the Complainant No. 1 Consumer Education and Research Society (CERS) is
a Registered Society incorporated under Societies Act (XXI) of 1860. It is a Public
Charitable Trust registered under the provisions of Bombay Public Trust Act,
1950, on 15th December 1986 and it has eight founder members, 5813 ordinary
members, 33 institutional members, 3 volunteer members and 5 student members.
The Society is mainly devoted to promotion and protection of Consumer interest
through complaint handling, publications, legal research, media exposure and use
of legal process-mechanism. It also undertakes the research and investigations into
various consumer problems and issued in different fields to find out the resolution.
The society was promoted and set up by the Consumer Education and Research
Centre, Ahmedabad, an organization working in the field of consumer protection
since 1978. It has been recognized as a “registered consumer association” in terms
of clause (n) of section 2 of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practice Act,
1969 with Registration no. 01/88, vide no. 31/2/87-M III dated 27.01.1988 by the
Govt. of India, Department of Company Affairs for protecting consumer interest
and conferring locus standi before the MRTP Commission. It has initiated public
interest litigation before the Supreme Court of India, High Courts, Monopolies and
Restrictive Trade Practices Commission, National Consumer Dispute Redressal
Commission and other Judicial and Quasi-Judicial Authorities. The copy of CERS
registration certificate is annexed herewith as Annexure “A1”.

2. That the Opponent No. 1 is a business conglomerate having diversified business

interests in Hospitality, Infrastructure, IT, Agritech, Food Processing, Education,
Timeshare etc. There headquarter is in Ahmedabad and has multiple business
activities and units in places like Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, Jaipur, Udaipur etc.
Under its Hospitality division, owns and operates Hotels, Resorts, Clubs, and SPAs
etc., in metro cities.

32
3. That the Complainant No. 2 Mr. Narendra K. Kamdar (herein after referred as the
“complainant” for the sake of brevity) got “Royal Jonquil” booked on 27th
February 2011 by paying the booking amount of Rs. 51000/- for the marriage of
his daughter that was to be held on 15th May 2011. That the cash receipt for the
booking amount is being annexed as Annexure C 1.

4. That because of some unavoidable circumstances the complainant was not able to
hold his daughters marriage ceremony on 15th May 2011 and therefore he sent a
letter dated on 21st April 2011 to the Opposite party No. 1 informing about the
cancellation of his daughter’s marriage ceremony on 15th May 2011 and
simultaneously he also requested to refund the amount of 51000/- that the
complainant deposited with you at the time of booking. The letter which was sent
to notify the hotel for the cancellation of the event and refunding the money is
being annexed as Annexure C 2.

5. That the Complainant No. 2 informed that even after receiving the letter dated 21st
April 2011 from him, the opposite party did not refunded the amount of Rs. 51,000
(Rupee Fifty One Thousand only) to him. Later Complainant No. 2 approached to
the Complainant No. 1 to get his grievances redressed through the mediation
process. Complainant No. 1 issued a first letter to Opposite party on 6th March
2012 and thereafter a reminder letter on 9th April 2012 requesting the Opposite
party to resolve the complaint of the Complainant No. 2. However, the opposite
party willfully neglected and constantly failed to refund the amount of Rs. 51,000
(Rupee Fifty One Thousand only) to the Complainant No. 2.

6. That the Complainant No. 2 informed the Opposite party No.1 in the form of a
written communication and thus giving them a good amount of time to find a
replacement for that date and therefore they should return the money with the
interest due on it.

33
7. That this Hon’ble Forum has the jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the complaint
since the office of opposite party no. 1 lies within the territorial jurisdiction of this
forum and the cause of action has also arisen within the territorial jurisdiction of
this forum.

8. That the cause of action for filling the present complaint arose for the first time on
21st April 2011 when a letter informing the cancellation of the hall and refunding
the amount because of the unavoidable circumstances resulting in the cancellation
of the marriage and is being filed within the prescribed limitation period.

9. That the complainant No.2 reserves his right to claim appropriate compensation at
appropriate time for all the harassment, agony and pain caused to him due to
unresponsive and irresponsible attitude of the opposite party.

PRAYER

34
10. In the view of the aforesaid submissions, it is most respectfully prayed that the Hon’ble
Forum may be pleased to pass:

1. An order directing the opposite party to pay Rs. 51,000/- with interest at rate of 12%
per annum from 21st April 2011 to the complainant;

2. An order directing the opposite party to pay Rs. 25,000 for mental pain and
harassment to Complainant;

3. An order directing the opposite parties to pay Rs.10, 000 as cost of litigation to the
Complainants as a cost of litigation;

4. Any other order which this Hon’ble forum deems fit and appropriate in facts and
circumstances of the case. For which act of kindness, the complainant shall, as is duty
bound, ever pray.

Place: Complainant Through...

Dated: (Advocate or Consumer Association)

35
 Annexure – C
(CASE SYNOPSIS)

CONSUMER COURT CASE

DEVRAJ SHARMA & ANR.– Petitioners
36
 Versus
KLM NORTH WEST AIRLINES – Respondents
CITATION: I (2014) CPJ 85 (NC)

FACTS OF THE CASE:

 Complainants/ Petitioners travelled from New Delhi to Atlanta (USA) and came back
to New Delhi by airlines.

 Complainant were illtreated during the course of the journey and their baggage was also
damages due to rain, thunder storm which has costing Rs. 3,96,000. On arrival at
destination baggage was opened in presence of opposition party baggage was totally
damaged and when the petitioner told them to compensate the damage but, OP refused
to pay and then after complainant files an complaint before district forum.

 District court allowed complaint partly and directed OP to pay Rs. 1,00,000 for the
damage of goods and Rs. 1,00,000 for mental agony and further allowed Rs. 20,000 as
cost of litigation.

 As per terms and conditions of tickets, liability was limited up to US $ 20 Per KG, and
640 US $ in check balance which every passenger entitled to pay.

 .District court held that US $ 2500 per baggage cannot applied.

ISSUES OF THE CASE:

 Whether there was any safety measures for baggage?

 Whether there is any irregularity or jurisdiction error in revised petition?

RATIO:

 The district court partly allowed the complaint of the petitioner and held that limit of
25000 US $ cannot be applied
 Journey of complaint was not within the United States, and it was an international
journey from US to Delhi 2

SUPREME COURT CASE

PRADEEP SHARMA – Appellant

37
 Versus
CHIEF ADMINISTRATOR HARYANA URBAN DEV. AUTHORITY
&ANR. – Respondent
CITATION: 2016 (1) CPR 111 (SC)

FACTS OF THE CASE:

 The appellant/ complainant was allotted a plot bearing no. 1048 in sector 64, Faridabad
measuring 250 sq. yds. Vide memo no. 399 dated 01.01.2001 at the rate of Rs. 1,865/-
per sq. yds. The appellant along with the application from had deposited 10% as earnest
money and 15% of the sale consideration was deposited on 22.01.2001 Balance amount
of 75% of the total cost was to be deposited by the appellant in six yearly equal
instalments with 15% interest per annum to Haryana Urban Development Authority
(for short ‘HUDA’)

 HUDA issued the demand notice to the appellant calling upon him to pay a sum of Rs.
59,782.50 vide memo no. 38698 dated 04.10.2002 on account of enhancement of the
cost of the plot which as per the terms of allotment they have right to do so. The
appellant has failed to deposit the said amount and hence the possession of the plot is
not delivered to him. Alleging that there was deficiency on the part of HUDA for not
delivering the possession, the appellant filed a complaint before the District Consumer
Disputes Redressal Forum, Faridabad (for short ‘District Forum’) praying for issuance
of direction to HUDA to hand over the possession of the plot by adjusting the amount
already deposited.

ISSUES OF THE CASE:

 Whether the actions taken against the officials of the HUDA responsible for dereliction
of duties?

 Whether HUDA executed the necessary document and issue no objection certificate
and clearances as may be required within four weeks of time span?

RATIO:

 That the rate for the year 2010 was Rs. 6200/- per sq. metres. and after the year 2010,
the rate was not finalized till the year 2014-15, hence the deponent is not in position to
intimate the rate of the year 2011. Moreover it is submitted that the rate of the year
2014-15 is Rs. 10500/- per sq. metres.” Considering the fact that the appellant has
deposited the then cost of the plot way back in 2009 and other facts and circumstances
and in the interest of justice, they directed HUDA to permit the appellant to retain the
plot subject to the condition that the appellant pays the cost of plot at the prevailing
HUDA rate i.e. Rs.10,500/- per sq. metres.

38
 SUPREME COURT CASE

SHEELA HIRBA NAIK GAUNEKAR -- Petitioner

VERSUS
APOLLO HOSPITALS LTD. -- Respondent

39
FACTS OF THE CASE:

 MRS. RAJYALAKSHMI RAO, MEMBER Wife of the deceased, Mrs. Sheela Hirba
Morto Naik Gaunekar, has filed this complaint alleging deficiency in service rendered
by the doctors of the Apollo Hospital, Chennai, who carried out the Angioplasty
operation, which resulted in death of Mr. Gaunekar on 18.5.1996 in the hospital. It is
her say that on 9.4.1996, the deceased was to celebrate his 60th Birthday.
 However, he was admitted in Goa Medical College, Bambolin, on 1.4.1996 and was
kept under observation for 8 days and was discharged on 9.4.1996. During the
observation, the doctors advised the deceased to have Angiography at some future date
to dispel doubts of possible blockage of blood vessels.
 He thereafter took appointment from Dr.Mathew and went to Apollo Hospitals, Madras
on 9.5.1996. Angiogram was taken on 10.5.1996 and the deceased was advised to have
Angioplasty by putting stents. Angioplasty was decided to be done on 14.5.1996 at 9.00
AM.
 On 14.5.1996, the deceased was given light breakfast and tea at 6.30 AM and was taken
to Cathlab at 9.00 AM for Angioplasty. Instead of carrying out Angioplasty, Dr.Vivek
Bose came at 12.00 Oclock and assured that Mr.Gaunekar will be taken to Cathlab very
soon. However, he was taken only at 4.00 PM in the evening. The complainant was
informed at about 6.30 PM by Dr.Vivek Bose that the whole procedure was over and
there was no problem in inserting the stents. Thereafter, Mr.Gaunekar was taken to
ICCU.
 It is the say of the complainant that after going to the ICCU, she noticed that the air-
conditioner in ICCU was not working and Mr.Gaunekar was restless and perspiring.
She, therefore, complained to the doctors. It is her say that in Madras, at the relevant
time, temperature was 43oC. She had even complained to the Managing Directors
office for this. Thereafter, Dr.Mathew came and informed her that there was nothing to
worry as the whole Angioplasty process went on very well and there were no blocks or
deposits in the arteries.

ISSUES OF THE CASE:

There were basically two main issues undermining the case. One of the major issue was,
 Whether there was duly resolved by the national commission as it had taken all the
wonderful investigation on its hand and worked brilliantly by studying all the
documentaries as well as material evidence it made the job of SC very easier.

 Whether the compensation given to plaintiff was reasonable and just or whether there
was a need for it to be enhanced
RATIO:

 The National Commission had made its perspective very clear, by issuing the point that
any wrongdoer no matter what he has done will be punished. But , it was believed by
the SC that the national commission had made certain mistakes in its calculation. The

40
SC also proved that when a wrong has been committed and impacts the family at large,
then there is a very important need for sufficient compensation A compensation paves
way for the certain judicial system as stated explicitly by Gowda and Chandrachud JJ.

CONSUMER COURT CASE

HONDA SEIL CARS INDIA LTD. & ANR. – Petitioners
Versus
ABDUL K. RUBB. – Respondents
CITATION: I (2014) CPJ 52

41
FACTS OF THE CASE:

 The Consumer bought a car from a dealer of the opposite party, and have reported a
deficiency under sec. 2 I (g) in the brake system
 The party who has manufactured the car I.e., opposite party after taking an detailed
inspection done by experts , found that there is no fault in braking system in the car or
any other issue with the car
 The district forum ordered that the opposing party/ manufacturer to install the car with
ABS (ANTI-BRAKING SYSTEM) or pay the sum of the complaint of Rs. 1,00,000/-
in terms of compensation
 The opposite party files two appeals in the state commission and both were rejected
 The opposing party again filed a revised petition with NCDRC (NATIONAL
CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISION)

ISSUES OF THE CASE:

 Whether there was any type of deficiency in the part of car or in car?
 Whether ABS (ANTI-BRAKING-SYSTEM) was to be installed or not?

RATIO:

 The National Commission allowed the petition under sec. 21(b) of the consumer
protection act 1986
 The car was not sold with ABS system

CONSUMER COURT CASE

FORCE MOTORS LTD.. TH. ITS AUTHORIZED, SIGNATORY--
Petitioners
VERSUS
DPS SECTION SCHOOL, TH. MANAGER, & ANR. – Respondents

42
 CITATION:2014 (4) CPR 495 (NC)

FACTS OF THE CASE:

 Respondent No.1/Complainant purchased Minidoor Auto Rickshaw from Respondent

No.2/Opposite Party No.1. This vehicle had been manufactured by the Petitioner. As
per case of respondent no.1, since the vehicle was defective he made various complaints
but the same was not rectified by the dealer as well as by the manufacturer. Alleging
deficiency, on the part of the manufacturer and dealer, respondent no.1 filed a
(Consumer Complaint No.59 of 2008) before the District Consumer Disputes Redressal
Forum, Dhoulpur (for short, District Forum).
 The consumer complaint was contested by the manufacturer as well as dealer.
 The District Forum, vide its order dated 19.09.2010 partly allowed complaint and
directed the petitioner and respondent no.2 jointly and severally, to repair the vehicle
to the satisfaction of respondent no. 1.
 In compliance of the District Forums order dated 19.02.2010, petitioner as well as
respondent no.2 repaired the vehicle to the satisfaction of respondent no.1 and obtained
Receipt-cum- Undertaking dated 14.10.2010, from him to the effect that the said vehicle
has been repaired.

ISSUES OF THE CASE:

 Whether the receipt of acknowledged and confirm the delivery of the vehicle is in sound
working condition?
 whether there is any claim of any nature pending or subsisting on receipt of the vehicle
after due repairs.

RATIO:

 The above Receipt-cum-Undertaking, it is manifestly clear that in compliance of order

dated 19.2.2010 passed by the District Forum in (Consumer Complaint No.59 of 2008),
petitioner had repaired the vehicle of respondent no.1. After repairs, respondent no. 1
had inspected the vehicle and also taken its trial on the road. Further, respondent no. 1
was totally satisfied with the conditions and working of the vehicle after such due
repairs. Lastly, respondent no.1 has also confirmed that he has no claim of any nature
pending or subsisting on receipt of the above vehicle after duly repaired.

43
 Annexure – D
(SURVEY ON “CONSUMER
AWARNESS”)

Interpretation of Questionnaire on Consumer Awareness

INTRODUCTION

In today’s competitive world, manufacturers, retailers, wholesalers and distributors have

forgotten business ethics and have the only motive to earn huge amount of profit irrespective

44
of whether consumers are exploited or not. Consumers are exploited up to large extent in the
market in terms of money, quality and quantity while purchasing any product or availing any
service. Thus, with intent to protect consumers from being exploited, legislators, with great
commitment, brought legislation known as The Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The
commitment of the legislators is reflected itself in the preamble of the said Act which is as
under:

“An Act to provide for better protection of the interests of consumers and for that purpose to
make provision for the establishment of consumer councils and other authorities for the
settlement of consumers' disputes and for matters connected therewith.”5

Under this Act, rights are provided for the consumers which are as follows:

I. Right to be protected against the goods and services which are hazardous to life and
property,
II. Right to be informed related to the price, quantity, quality, weight, standards, etc.,
III. Right to be assured to get access to variety of goods and services at competitive prices,
IV. Right to be heard consumers’ grievances at appropriate forums,
V. Right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or restrictive trade practices or
unscrupulous exploitation of consumers and
VI. Right to consumer education.
Thus, the above rights incorporated in the Act, should be known to each and every consumer
so as to avoid from being exploit by any seller.

On 18th of January, 2019, we conducted an online survey through google forms containing
certain personal information such as name, age, sex and e-mail and a questionnaire containing
9 questions. Following were the questions asked in survey:

A. Do you know about consumer rights?

B. Do you know where consumer rights are mentioned?
C. Have you ever felt that you have been exploited by any seller while purchasing any product
or availing any service?
D. Do you know where to approach if you have been exploited?
E. Do you know any organization working for the welfare of the consumer?
F. Do you know about Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC)?

5
The Consumer Protection Act, 1986, No. 68, Acts of Parliament, 1986 (India)

45
G. Do you know any other alternative other than the courts to resolve the issues?
H. Do you know the term ‘Mediation’?
I. Do you know any schemes which are initiated by the Government of India for welfare of
consumers?

AIM OF THE SURVEY:

The aim of the survey is to know whether consumers are aware of the listed questions
mentioned in the questionnaire and to make consumer aware if they are not.

HYPOTHESIS OF THE SURVEY:

 Majority people don’t know that they do have consumer rights vested in the Consumer
Protection Act, 1986.
 20-30% don’t know where to approach don’t know where to approach if they have been
exploited.
 50-60% don’t know about any organization which is working for the welfare of the
consumers.
 Majority of the people don’t know where to approach other than the courts to solve the
issues.
 80-90% don’t know what is mediation.
 Majority of the people don’t know about the Consumer Education and Research Centre.
 40-50% don’t know any schemes initiated by the government for the welfare of the
consumers.

DATA OF SURVEY AND INTERPRETATION:

 Following pie chart shows the ratio of gender of the people who participated in this survey:

46
Majority of the respondents participated in this survey are males.

Q1- Do you know about Consumer rights?

► As per the above analysis, 89% of the participants know about consumer rights where
11% does not know. This shows that majority of the respondents are aware about the
consumer rights.

47
Q2- Do you know where consumer rights are mentioned?

► The above pie chart proves that 67.1% knows that where rights are mentioned while
32.9% doesn’t know. This shows that still there is need to aware the people about the
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 as it is the lifeline of the consumers for safeguarding
their interest.

48
Q3- Have you ever felt that you have been exploited by any seller while purchasing any
product or availing any service?

► From the above pie chart, it is known that around 80% of the respondents have been
exploited while purchasing any product or availing the service.

49
Q4- Do you know where to approach if you have been exploited?

► 68% of the respondents know where to approach if they have been exploited. Rest
32% are not aware about the same. This shows that still there is need to aware the
people.

50
Q5- Do you know any other alternative other than the courts to resolve the issues?

► Only 54% knows other alternatives other than the courts. Rest 46% does not know
other alternatives. This shows that due to lack of awareness, people directly
approach the courts which increase the burden of the courts.

51
Q6- Do you know any organization working for the welfare of the consumer?

► From the above pie chart, we can know that 66% of the respondents know about
organization working for the welfare of the consumer. Rest 34% does not know
anything about any organization working for the welfare of the consumer.

52
Q7- Do you know the term ‘Mediation’?

► 61% knows what is mediation. 40% don’t know this term. This response shows
that people are still not that much aware about the other methods other than courts
to resolve their issues.

53
Q8- Do you know about Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC)?

► 67% knows about CERC which is a positive result while 33% does not Know

54
 Q9- Do you know any schemes which are initiated by the Government of India for welfare
of consumers?

► 55% knows the schemes while 41.5% does not know. Whereas 1.2% of the responses
specifically mentioned about the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and “Jago Grahak Jago”
Slogan.

SUGGESTIONS AND CONCLUSIONS:

After analyzing the data collected from the survey, we came to know that there is still need to
make people aware about:

55
 I. Consumer Rights
II. Malpractices undertaken by the sellers in order to avoid exploitation
III. Alternative Dispute Mechanism other than the courts
IV. Mediation so that affected consumer gets speedy and qualitative justice
V. Consumer Education and Research Centre
VI. Schemes initiated by the Central Government
Thus, a collective step is to be taken by the government, educational institutions and
individuals.

Government should arrange various programmes and campaigns for making consumer aware
about consumer rights. Government should also publish advertisements regarding the
malpractices adopted by the sellers so as to aware the consumers about the same. Education
institutions should cover the mediation topic in their curriculum so that students acquainted
about the mediation process which increases the awareness among the people and thus, this
results in reducing the burden of the courts. Government should also organize workshops for
training of mediation. This will increase the scope of mediation in India and dispute will be
resolved speedily. Individuals should take active interest in the campaigns and programmes
organized by the government and non-government organizations. This will reduce the
exploitation of the consumers and then only consumers will be considered as a KING.

It is rightly said by Mahatma Gandhi “A customer is the most important visitor on our premises.
He is not dependent on us. We are dependent on him. He is not an interruption of our work.
He is the purpose of it. He is not an outsider of our business. He is part of it. We are not doing
him a favor by serving him. He is doing us a favor by giving us the opportunity to do so.”

56
 Annexure – E
(PROJECT ON “MISLEADING
ADVERTISMENT”)

57
 CONSUMER EDUCATION AND RESEARCH CENTER

INTERNSHIP BATCH:
1st January to 28th January, 2019

MISLEADING ADVERTISMNET ASSIGNMEN

Submitted to: Submitted by:

Mr. Abhishek Awasthi Siddhantraj
(Head of Legal Department, CERC) Marwadi University

MISLEADING ADVERTISMENT

58
False advertising is the use of false, misleading, or unproven information to
advertise products to consumers. The advertising that does not disclose its
source. One form of false advertising is to claim that a product has a health
benefit or contains vitamins or minerals that it in fact does not.

On the basis of some Research and observations I have found two Ads. That can
be a false or misleading,

1. “PURO Healthy Salt”

2. “REDBULL- Gives you Wings”

(PURO Healthy salt)

59
60
61
Here the company claims that, “Top chefs worldwide recommend this tasty salt
for enhancing the flavour in food” This is truly a false statement because as per
my research I have searched this product in most of all international E-commerce
sites & I have found that this product is nowhere else it is only in Indian E-
commerce sites, and they claims that our product is 100% pure/ natural, if yes
then what about enhancing flavour in food?

Salt has come a long way from being a highly valued precious element and form
of currency. Now days, it’s become a controversial and somewhat demonized
“anti-nutrient.” Consequently, people consuming excess sodium can suffer
from high blood pressure, stroke and cardiovascular disease6

When people consume it in excess, the salt binds to water in their bloodstream
and raises blood pressure7. But the way we consume salt in the Standard Indian
Diet is in the form of highly processed table salt.

Some Facts about Pink/ Rock Salt:-

Pink Salt is made up of 97.41% sodium chloride, with 2.59% of it comprising of

the 84 minerals that everyone is raving about 1.

6
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17556881
7
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16467498

62
The mineral content of each one is so small that they do not contribute to
Himalayan pink salt side effects at all. For instance, 0.00389% or 38.9 parts per
million of this salt is made of iron oxide, which is known to give the pink colour.

When one consumes an excessive amount of sodium, especially in the form of

sodium chloride, it has many adverse side effects. The biggest concerns revolve
around electrolyte imbalance, which are the ions present in our bodily fluids that
keep us hydrated and ensure proper bodily functions like nerve impulses and our
heart beat.

Unreliable Sources of Iodine:

This only truly applies to Himalayan Pink Salt and other non-iodized salts. Most
people get their iodine from dairy products, eggs, seafood and fortified table salt.

Then, How they claim that it is 100% Pure/ Natural and Veg.

63
64
 (RED BULL - Gives you Wings)

In advertising, there's a big difference between pushing the truth and making false
claims.

Many companies have been caught out for peddling mediocre products, using
wild claims like "scientifically proven" with "guaranteed results."

Such deceptive conduct and practices mean that [Red Bull's] advertising and
marketing is not just 'puffery,' but it instead deceptive and fraudulent and it
therefore actionable

65
Even though there is a lack of genuine scientific support for a claim that Red Bull
branded energy drinks provide any more benefit to a consumer than a cup of
coffee, the Red Bull defendants persistently and pervasively market their product
as a superior source of 'energy' worthy of a premium price over a cup of coffee
or other sources of caffeine.

*This data is totally based on Research and Observation

Siddhantraj Chavda

66