SHILLONG: The BJP in Meghalaya has asked the Union Government to establish a Supreme Court Bench in Shillong besides effective consumer forums.
In a memorandum submitted to the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice, P.P.Choudhury, the Convenor, Department of Law and Legal Affairs, the BJP, Meghalaya State Unit, Tilok Dasgupta said that while there are district courts and High Court, the accessibility to the highest Court of Appeal that is, the Supreme Court, has still remained a far cry to several ordinary litigants from the region.This is owing to the distant seat of the Apex Court, duration of travel and additional expenditures involved.
“A litigant ultimately ends up spending more during the process than the actual required cost of litigation. The cost of litigation virtually becomes unbearable for those living in far-flung areas in the region where surface and air connectivity is yet to fully develop,” he said.
The BJP leader said that the agony of a litigant going to Delhi from a distant place like Meghalaya and elsewhere in the Northeast to attend a case in the Supreme Court cannot be overemphasised. “The litigants are required to spend huge amount on travel, expenses of the lawyer who had handled the matter before the High Court besides cost incurred for adjournments”, he said.
The BJP also sought amendment of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 to facilitate appointment of retired district judges/district council judges/advocates as presiding officers of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (DCDRF) in Meghalaya.
In a separate letter to the Union Minister of State for Law and Justice, the BJP leader said that there is a need to have regular functioning of the district forum in every district of the state in the interest of the aggrieved consumers at large.
He said the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in every district in the country was aimed at ensuring efficacious and expeditious disposal of consumer matters on a first track basis and also within a time frame as laid down in the Act. He pointed out that out of eleven districts in State, eight districts have Consumer Redressal Forums and in 6 out of 8 districts, it is the Deputy Commissioners who act as the presiding officers of such Forum,” he said.
The BJP leader also added the position of East Khasi Hills district and West Garo Hills is worse where the District & Session Judges are made to function as the president of District Consumer Forum the magnitude of whose responsibilities as District & Session Judge is colossus.
“Such an arrangement not only belies rationality and pragmatism but also acts as a hindrance to expeditious disposal of cases by the parent Court and the Forum as well. The District Forum meets two days a week in East Khasi Hills,” he added.
