Consumer Rights

We participate in the market both as producers and as consumers. As consumers we buy goods and services such as food, medicines, banking and healthcare. In this chapter you will learn how consumers are often exploited by sellers and producers through underweight and undermeasurement, adulteration, defective goods, high prices, false or incomplete information and poor after-sales service. Such exploitation happens because producers are few and powerful while consumers are many and scattered. You will study how the consumer movement arose in India in the 1960s out of dissatisfaction with such unfair practices, leading to the Consumer Protection Act of 1986, now replaced by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. You will learn about the rights of consumers: the right to safety, the right to be informed, the right to choose, the right to seek redressal and the right to represent, along with the importance of consumer education. You will study the three-tier consumer commissions at the district, state and national levels, the role of standardisation marks such as ISI, Agmark and Hallmark, and why consumer awareness is essential.

Detailed Worksheet: Consumer Rights Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. Who is a consumer? Give two examples of ways in which consumers are exploited in the market. (2 marks) 2. What is the consumer movement? When did it start in India and why? (2 marks) 3. What is meant by the right to be informed? Name two pieces of information that must be printed on a packet of medicine. (2 marks) 4. What is the right to seek redressal? Name the three levels of consumer commissions. (2 marks) 5. What are ISI, Agmark and Hallmark? On which kinds of products do they appear? (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. A shopkeeper sells rice by a faulty balance that gives only 950 g when it shows 1 kg. If a family buys 20 kg of rice a month at Rs 50 per kg, calculate the quantity they actually receive and the money they lose in a month and in a year. Which right of the consumer is violated? (3 marks) 7. The MRP of a bottle of juice is Rs 40, but a shop near a tourist spot charges Rs 55. Calculate the percentage by which the price exceeds the MRP. What action can the consumer take, and what does MRP stand for? (3 marks) 8. Under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, with limits revised in 2021, complaints with a value up to Rs 50 lakh go to the District Commission, from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 2 crore to the State Commission, and above Rs 2 crore to the National Commission. State the appropriate commission for claims of (i) Rs 3 lakh (ii) Rs 1.2 crore (iii) Rs 5 crore. (3 marks) 9. A consumer survey of 200 people in a town found that 120 had never checked the expiry date before buying medicines, 50 checked sometimes and 30 always checked. Calculate the percentage in each group and comment on the level of consumer awareness. (3 marks) 10. Arrange the following events in chronological order: Consumer Protection Act passed in India; consumer movement begins in India; United Nations adopts guidelines for consumer protection; Consumer Protection Act, 2019 replaces the earlier Act; Right to Information Act passed. Give the years. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. Draw a flowchart showing the three-tier quasi-judicial machinery for redressal of consumer disputes under the Consumer Protection Act, with the pecuniary limit of each level. (4 marks) 12. Draw a neat poster for a consumer awareness campaign titled 'Jago Grahak Jago', showing at least three consumer rights. (3 marks) 13. Draw a flowchart showing the steps a consumer should follow to file a complaint about a defective product, from keeping the bill to approaching the consumer commission. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. 'Rules and regulations are required for the protection of consumers in the marketplace.' Justify this statement with examples. Why is individual consumer action often not enough, and how do consumer groups help? (5 marks) 15. Critically examine the progress of the consumer movement in India. Why is the process of filing complaints still cumbersome and time-consuming for many consumers, and what changes have been made to make redressal easier? (5 marks) 16. A school boy suffered serious harm because of negligence during a minor surgery in a private hospital. His father filed a case in the State Consumer Commission, which held the hospital responsible and awarded compensation. Which consumer rights are involved in this case? Explain how consumer courts help consumers in such situations and why medical services are treated as services under consumer law. (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Answer in your own words with relevant examples. Draw flowcharts and posters neatly and label them clearly.