In
exercise of the powers conferred by section 103 of the Consumer
Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019), the National Consumer Disputes Redressal
Commission, with the previous approval of the Central Government, hereby makes
the following Regulations, namely:- (1)
These regulations may be called the
Consumer Protection (Mediation) Regulations, 2020. (2)
They shall come into force on the date of
their publication in the Official Gazette. (1)
In these regulations, unless the context
otherwise requires, - (a)
"Act" means the Consumer
Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019); (b)
"Consumer Commission" means a
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established in a District under
section 28 of the Act, a State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
established in a State under section 42 of the Act or the National
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission established under section 53 of
the Act; (c)
"Mediation Cell' means a Consumer
Mediation Cell established under sub-section (1) of section 74 and
includes the Consumer Mediation Cell attached to the regional benches of the
National Commission. (d)
"party" means a party to a
consumer dispute or any other proceeding pending before a Consumer Commission. (e)
"rules" mean the rules made
under the Act; (f)
"section" means a section of
the Act; (g)
"settlement" means a settlement
arrived at in the course of a mediation proceeding in respect of all or some of
the issues involved in a consumer dispute pending before a Consumer Commission. (2)
The words and expressions used herein and
not defined, but defined in the Act or the rules shall have the meaning as
assigned to them in the Act or in the rules, as the case may be. The
following persons shall be eligible to be empanelled with a Mediation
Cell- (i)
retired Judges of Supreme Court of India; (ii)
retired Judges of the High Courts; (iii)
retired Members of a Consumer Commission; (iv)
retired District and Session Judges,
retired Additional District and Session Judges or other retired Members of the
Higher Judicial Services of a State; (v)
retired Judicial officers, having
experience of not less than ten years; (vi)
an advocate with a minimum experience of
ten years at Bar; (vii)
the mediators empanelled with the
Mediation Cell of the Supreme Court of India, High Court or a District Court; (viii)
a person having experience of at least
five years in mediation or conciliation; (ix)
experts or other professionals with at
least fifteen years' experience or retired senior bureaucrats or retired
executives. (1)
The following persons shall be
disqualified for being empanelled as a Mediator, namely:- (i)
a person who has been adjudged as
insolvent; (ii)
person against whom criminal charges
involving moral turpitude are framed by a criminal court and are pending; (iii)
a person who has been convicted by a
criminal court for any offence involving moral turpitude; (iv)
a person against whom disciplinary
proceedings have been initiated by the appropriate disciplinary authority and
are pending or have resulted in a punishment. (2)
A person who is or has been interested in
or connected with the subject matter of the consumer dispute or is related
to or has been associated or connected in any manner, including in a
professional capacity, with any of the parties to the consumer disputes or any
of their associates, affiliates, promoters, holding companies, subsidiaries
companies, partners, directors or employees, shall be disqualified for being
nominated as a mediator in that case. (1)
Each Consumer Commission shall invite
applications from eligible persons for empanelment as mediators, by
publication of a notice in at least one English and one vernacular newspaper
widely circulated in its jurisdiction. (2)
The applications received by the
Mediation Cell for empanelment as mediator shall be scrutinized and the list of
eligible applications shall be placed before the selection committee
constituted under sub-section (1) of section 75. (3)
The Selection Committee shall determine
its procedure for making its recommendation and, after taking into account the
suitability, integrity as well as relevant experience of the candidates,
recommend a panel to be maintained by the Mediation Cell. (4)
The panel of mediation shall consist of
not more than such number of persons in the Mediation Cells attached to a
Consumer Commission as may be decided by the President of that Consumer
Commission. (5)
The consent of the persons whose names
are included in the panel shall be obtained before empanelling them. (6)
The Mediation Cell shall be headed by the
President of the Consumer Commission. If a
mediator is discovered to be disqualified or he in any manner
misconducts himself as a mediator or he is otherwise found unsuitable to
continue as a mediator, the Mediation Cell may remove his name from the panel
of mediators after giving an opportunity of hearing to him. Only
such mediators shall be eligible for re-empanelment who, in the opinion of
the Mediation Cell, have successfully and efficiently discharged their
functions as empanelled mediators and such re-empanelment is made on the basis
of the recommendation of the Selection Committee. (1)
A consolidated fee, in a successful
mediation shall be paid to the mediator, who conducts the mediation
proceedings, from the time of reference till their conclusion. (2)
The fee of the mediator empanelled with a
Consumer Commission, including costs of secretarial assistance and other
ancillary expenses, shall be fixed by the President of the respective Consumer
Commission, case wise, considering the nature of the dispute. (3)
In an unsuccessful mediation, half of the
aforesaid fee will be paid to the mediator. (4)
The fee of the mediator shall be shared
equally by the two sets of parties. (5)
The mediator who successfully conducts
part of the proceedings will be paid such fee as may be fixed by the President
of the Consumer Commission. (6)
The fee shall be deposited in advance,
with the Mediation Cell. (7)
If a party does not deposit his share of
the fee or the cost of mediation, the Consumer Commission may, on the
application of the mediator or any other party, direct the party in default to
deposit the same within a week, and if- (i)
he fails to deposit such fee or cost, the
Consumer Commission may permit the other parties to deposit the same and recover
the said amount, from the party in default, in the manner prescribed for the
execution of a money decree by a Civil Court; (ii)
no other party deposits the share of the
party in default, the Consumer Commission may terminate the mediation
proceedings. The
mediators shall be given appropriate training in conducting mediation by such
experts as may be nominated by the Mediation Cell and it shall be
obligatory for them to attend such training. (1) The empanelled mediators shall not communicate,
directly or indirectly with any of the parties or their associates, affiliates,
promoters, holding companies, subsidiaries companies, directors, partners or
employees or with any of their counsel during pendency of the mediation
proceedings, except during the course of the mediation, in the presence of the
parties or their counsel. (2) The empanelled mediator shall not accept any gift or
hospitality from any of the parties or their associates, affiliates, promoters,
holding companies, subsidiaries companies, directors, partners or employees or
any of their counsel. (3) In addition to the disclosure required under clauses
(a) and (b) of section 77 each mediator shall disclose the
following information before commencement of the mediation in a case assigned
to him, namely:- (i)
whether he has or in the past had any
personal, business or professional relationship or connection with any of
the parties to the consumer dispute or other proceedings or any person associated
or connected in any manner, to any of the parties or their associates,
affiliates, parent companies, subsidiaries companies, directors, partners or
employees; (ii)
whether there exists any circumstance
which may give rise to be reasonable doubt as to his independence and
impartiality. (1)
The mediation shall be conducted in the
presence of the parties or their authorised representatives or counsel. (2)
The mediation shall stand terminated on
expiry of three months from the date of first appearance before the
mediator unless the time for completion of mediation is extended by the
Consumer Commission, in which case it shall stand terminated on expiry of such
extended time. (3)
The parties shall be entitled to appear
before the mediator in person or through their respective counsel or
authorised representatives. (4)
The mediator shall be guided by the
principles of natural justice and fair play but shall not be bound by the
provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) or the Indian
Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872). (5)
If a party does not participate in the
mediation proceedings, the Consumer Commission may direct such a party to
participate in the proceedings. (6)
The parties shall provide all such
information to the mediator as may be reasonably required by him for
conducting the mediation proceedings. (7)
The record of the proceedings shall be
prepared by the mediator on every date and shall be signed by the parties
or their Counsel, authorised representatives or Attorneys. (8)
The agreement executed between the
parties shall be submitted by the mediator, to the Consumer Commission, in
a sealed cover, with a forwarding letter. (9)
If no agreement is executed between the
parties, within the time prescribed in these regulations, the mediator
shall intimate so, to the Consumer Commission, without in any manner disclosing
as to what transpired during the mediation proceedings, what was the stand
taken by the parties or why the agreement could not be reached. (1)
The mediator shall attempt to facilitate
a voluntary resolution of the disputes between the parties, assist them in
removing the misunderstandings, if any, and generating options to resolve their
disputes, but shall not impose any term or any settlement upon the parties. (2)
The mediator shall explain the terms of
the agreement, to the parties, before obtaining their respective
signatures on it. (1)
The parties and the mediator shall
maintain confidentiality in respect of the events that transpire during
the mediation proceedings and shall not use or rely upon any information,
document etc. produced, the proposals and admissions made or the views
expressed during the mediation proceedings. (2)
There shall be no audio or video
recording of the mediation proceedings. The
mediator shall not communicate with the Consumer Commission except by way
of his report, with copies to all the parties. (1)
No mediator shall be liable for any civil
or criminal proceedings, for any act done or omitted to be done bonafidely
by him, in his capacity as a mediator. (2)
The mediator shall not be summoned by a
party to appear in a Court or other forum, to testify in regard to any
information received or the action taken by him during the mediation
proceedings. (1)
Every Mediation Cell shall submit a
quarterly report to the District Commission, the State Commission or the
National Commission to which it is attached, containing the following
information, namely:- (a)
a list of its empanelled mediators,
including experience and qualifications of each of them; (b)
the number of cases pending before it at
the beginning of the quarter; (c)
the number of cases referred to it during
the quarter; (d)
the number of cases disposed of during
the quarter; (e)
the number of cases pending at the end of
the quarter; (f)
the number of cases assigned to each
mediator, the number of cases disposed of by him during the quarter and the
number of cases in which the mediation referred to him was successful; (g)
the number of cases in which the
mediation was not successful; (h)
the fee paid to each mediator during the
quarter. (2)
The report shall be submitted within one
month of the end of each quarter. CONSUMER PROTECTION (MEDIATION) REGULATIONS,
2020
PREAMBLE