RAJASTHAN
CONSUMER PROTECTION RULES, 2021
PREAMBLE
In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) and clauses (a),
(b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g), (j), (k), (l), (o), (p), (q) of sub-section (2)
of section 102 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (Central Act No. 35 of
2019), the State Government hereby makes the following rules, namely:-
Rule - 1. Short title and commencement.
(1)
These rules may be called the Rajasthan Consumer
Protection Rules, 2021.
(2)
They shall come into force on the date of their publication
in the Official Gazette.
Rule - 2. Definitions.
(1)
In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires.-
(a)
'Act' means the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (Central
Act No. 35 of 2019);
(b)
'Appellant' means a person who makes an appeal against
the order of the District Commission in the State Commission;
(c)
'Authorized agent' means a person duly authorized by a
party to present any complaint, appeal, revision, application or to file
written version or to file any written submissions and address or plead, as the
case may be, for and on behalf of such a party before the District Commission
or the State Commission;
(d)
'Central rules' means the Consumer Protection (Consumer
Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020;
(e)
'Consumer Commission' means a District Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission or a State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, as the
case may be;
(f)
'Consumer Welfare Fund' means the Consumer Welfare Fund
established by the State Government or, as the case may be, by the Central
Government under section 57 of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
(Central Act No. 12 of 2017) ;
(g)
'District Commission' means a District Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission established under sub-section (1) of section 28 of the
Act;
(h)
'District Council' means the District Consumer Protection
Council established under sub-section (1) of section 8 of the Act;
(i)
'Mediation Cell' means Consumer Mediation Cell
established under section 74 of the Act;
(j)
'Memorandum' means any memorandum of appeal filed by the
appellant;
(k)
'Opposite Party' means a person who answers a complaint
under the Act;
(l)
'President' means the President of the State Commission
or the District Commission, as the case may be;
(m)
'Public Utility Service' means any.-
(i)
transport service for the carriage of passengers or goods
by air, road or water, or
(ii)
postal, telegraph, telephone or broadband service, or
(iii)
supply of power, light or water or fuel or natural gas to
the public by any establishment, or
(iv)
insurance service, or
(v)
service in, or in connection with, the working of any
major port or dock, or
(vi)
any other service specified by the State Government;
(n)
'Registrar' means the Head of the ministerial
establishment of the State Commission and exercising such powers and functions
as are conferred upon him by the President of the State Commission;
(o)
'Respondent' means the person who answers any memorandum
of appeal;
(p)
'Section' means a section of the Act;
(q)
'State' means the State of Rajasthan;
(r)
'State Commission' means a State Consumer Disputes
Redressal Commission established under sub-section (1) of section 42; and
(s)
'State Council' means the State Consumer Protection
Council established under sub-section (1) of section 6 of the Act.
(2)
The words and expressions used herein but not defined and
defined in the Act shall have the meaning assigned to them in the Act.
Rule - 3. Certain activities to be exempt from unfair trade practice.
Permitting of the
following activities carried out for promoting directly or indirectly the sale,
use or supply of any product or any business interest shall be exempt from the
purview of unfair trade practices, namely:-
(a)
lotteries allowed under the Lotteries (Regulation) Act,
1998 (Central Act No. 17 of 1998); and
(b)
games of chance or skill not prohibited under the Public
Gambling Act, 1867 (Central Act No. 3 of 1867), which are not gambling and
wherein success depends on a substantial degree of skill and not chance.
Rule - 4. The composition of the State Council and District Council.
(1)
The State Government shall, by notification in the
Official Gazette, establish the State Consumer Protection Council and District
Consumer Protection Council.
(2)
The State Consumer Protection Council shall consist of
the following members, namely:-
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(i)
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Minister
in-charge of the Consumer Affairs, Rajasthan.
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Chairperson
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(ii)
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Secretary to the
Government, Incharge of Consumer Affairs Department, Rajasthan
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Member
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(iii)
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Registrar, State
Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Rajasthan
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Member
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(iv)
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Secretary to the
Government, Incharge of Medical and Health Department, Rajasthan
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Member
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(v)
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Secretary to the
Government, Incharge of Energy Department, Rajasthan
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Member
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(vi)
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Secretary to the
Government, Incharge of Home Department, Rajasthan
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Member
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(vii)
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Secretary to the
Government, Incharge of Finance (Revenue) Department, Rajasthan
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Member
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(viii)
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Secretary to the
Government, Incharge of Public Health Engineering Department, Rajasthan
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Member
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(ix)
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Director and
Branch Head, Bureau of Indian Standards, Rajasthan
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Member
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(x)
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Director, Information
and Public Relations, Rajasthan
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Member
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(xi)
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General Manager,
Food Corporation of India, Rajasthan
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Member
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(xii)
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State Level
Coordinator, Government Oil Companies, Rajasthan
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Member
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(xiii)
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Other official
or non-official members, not exceeding ten, as may be nominated by the
Central Government under clause (c) sub-section (2) of section 6.
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Member
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(xiv)
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Two Members of
Parliament, one from the Lok Sabha and one from the Rajya Sabha, nominated by
the State Government.
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Member
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(xv)
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Two Legislative
Assembly Members, nominated by the State Government.
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Member
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(xvi)
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Two Zila Pramukh
of Zila Parishad, nominated by the State Government
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Member
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(xvii)
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One Mayor of
Nagar Nigam, nominated by the State Government
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Member
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(xviii)
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Two representative
of Voluntary Consumer Organizations, nominated by the State Government
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Member
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(xix)
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Two
representatives of Voluntary Organizations, nominated by the State Government
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Member
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(xx)
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Two women social
workers, nominated by the State Government
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Member
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(xxi)
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Two
representatives related to trade and commerce sector, nominated by the State
Government
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Member
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(xxii)
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Two eminent
Medical Doctors, nominated by the State Government
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Member
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(xxiii)
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Two members from
the Rajasthan Bar Council, nominated by the State Government
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Member
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(xxiv)
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Director,
Consumer Affairs Department, Rajasthan
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Member Secretary
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(3) The
District Consumer Protection Council shall consist of the following members,
namely:-
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(i)
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District
Collector
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Chairperson
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(ii)
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Chief Executive
Officer, Zila Parishad.
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Vice Chairperson
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(iii)
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Superintendent
of Police/Commissioner of Police
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Member
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(iv)
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District
Education Officer (Secondary)
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Member
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(v)
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Registrar/Deputy
Registrar/Assistant Registrar, Cooperative Societies
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Member
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(vi)
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District Nodal
Officer (LPG and Petroleum Products), nominated by the State Level
Coordinator of Government Oil companies
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Member
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(vii)
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District Public
Relation Officer
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Member
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(viii)
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Superintendent
Engineer or Executive Engineer of Electricity distribution Company concerned
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Member
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(ix)
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Executive
Engineer, Public Health Engineering Department
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Member
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(x)
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Commercial tax
Officer
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Member
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(xi)
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Legal Metrology
Officer, Legal Metrology Cell, Consumer Affairs Department
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Member
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(xii)
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Chief Medical
and Health Officer
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Member
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(xiii)
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Drug Inspector,
In-charge of the District
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Member
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(xiv)
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Member of
Parliament of the District
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Member
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(xv)
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Two Legislative
Assembly Members of the representing the areas of the district, nominated by
the State Government
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Member
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(xvi)
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Two Pradhan of
Panchayat Samiti, nominated by the State Government
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Member
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(xvii)
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Chairperson of
Municipality of District Head Quarter
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Member
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(xviii)
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President,
District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
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Member
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(xix)
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Two
representatives of Voluntary Consumer Organizations, nominated by the
District Collector
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Member
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(xx)
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Two
representatives related to Trade and Commerce sector, nominated by the
District Collector
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Member
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(xxi)
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An Advocate from
the District Bar Association, nominated by the State Government
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Member
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(xxii)
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Two Women Social
Worker, nominated by the District Collector
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Member
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(xxiii)
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District Supply
Officer for other than Divisional Head Quarters and Divisional Consumer
Protection Officer for Divisional Head Quarters
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Member Secretary
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(4) Term
of the State Council and District Council shall be three years, hereinafter in
these rules referred to as the Council:
Provided that the
Council shall continue to function for a further period of three months or till
it is reconstituted whichever is earlier.
(5)
In the event of nominated member being insolvent,
convicted in the criminal case or physically or mentally unable to perform his
duty or misusing his power may be removed before such tenure of three years by
the State Government or District Collector, as the case may be.
(6)
Any nominated member may, by notice in writing under his
hand addressed to the Chairperson of the Council concerned, resign from the
Council.
(7)
Any vacancy caused by resignation of a member or
otherwise shall be filled by a fresh nomination from the same category of
members by the State Government or District Collector, as the case may be.
(8)
The person nominated to fill the casual vacancy caused by
the resignation of a member or otherwise shall hold office only for the period
of time that the original member would have been entitled to hold office had
the vacancy not occurred.
Rule - 5. Meetings of the State Council and District Council for transaction of business.
(1)
The meetings of the State Council shall ordinarily be held
in Jaipur and meetings of the District council shall be held at district
headquarter or at any other place, wherever in the opinion of the Chairperson
of Council, it is expedient so to do.
(2)
At least two meetings of the Council shall be held in a
calendar year.
(3)
A meeting of the Council may be called, whenever
necessary, with the approval of the Chairperson by issuing a notice in writing
to every member at least fifteen days before the intended date of the meeting
by post or through e-mail to facilitate speedy communication.
(4)
The notice of every meeting of the Council shall intimate
the time, date, and place of the meeting and the items of agenda for the
meeting.
(5)
Any business not included in the agenda shall not be
transacted at a meeting of the Council except with the permission of the
Chairperson.
(6)
The minutes of each meeting of the Council shall be
approved by the Chairperson and same shall be forwarded to each member of the
Council as soon as possible for adoption at the next meeting.
(7)
No proceedings of the Council shall be invalid merely by
reasons of existence of any vacancy in or any defect in the constitution of the
Council.
Rule - 6. Number of Members in District Commission.
Each District
Commission shall consist of.-
(i)
a President, and
(ii)
two Members, out of which one Member or the President of
the District Commission shall be a woman.
Rule - 7. Number of Members in State Commission.
(1)
The State Commission shall consist of.-
(i)
a President, and
(ii)
not less than four members and not more than ten members,
out of which one member or the President of the State Commission shall be a
woman.
Rule - 8. Manner of authentication of goods by the Consumer Commission for analysis and testing.
(1)
The Consumer Commission may direct the complainant to
provide one or more than one sample of the goods in clean containers with
stopper properly fixed on them for the purposes of testing or analysis.
(2)
On receiving the samples of such goods, the Consumer
Commission shall seal it and fix labels on the containers carrying the
following information, namely:-
(a)
the name and address of the appropriate laboratory to
whom sample shall be sent for analysis and test;
(b)
the name and address of the Consumer Commission;
(c)
the case number; and
(d)
the official seal of the Consumer Commission.
(3)
The sealed sample shall be sent to the recognized
laboratory by the Consumer Commission.
(4)
The recognized laboratory, after receiving the sealed
sample and examining it, shall forward its report to the Consumer Commission
within forty-five days or within such extended time as may be granted by the
Consumer Commission, specifying the nature of the defect and date of submission
of the report.
Rule - 9. Manner of depositing the amount in appeals before State Commission.
Where an appeal is
filed before the State Commission under section 41, the amount to be deposited
by the appellant as provided in the second proviso to the said section shall be
remitted in the form of a crossed Demand Draft drawn on a nationalized bank in
favour of the Registrar, State Commission, payable at Jaipur or by
electronic/digital payment mode, if facility is available with the Commission.
Rule - 10. Furnishing of information by State Commission.
The State
Commission shall furnish information to the State Government on a quarterly
basis in the form as specified in Schedule.
Rule - 11. Procedure in respect of complaints before District Commission.
(1)
A complaint shall be presented to the District Commission
by the complainant in person or by his authorized agent, or be sent by a
registered post or by electronic mode, if facility is available with the
Commission, addressed to the District Commission, containing the following
particulars, namely:-
(a)
the name, description, address, email ID, mobile number
of the complainant;
(b)
the name, description and address of the opposite party
or parties, as the case may be, so far as they can be ascertained;
(c)
the facts relating to the complaint and when and where it
arose;
(d)
the documents in support of the allegations contained in
the complaint along with Index;
(e)
the relief which the complainant claims; and
(f)
verification of the facts of the complaint.
(2)
Every complaint under sub-rule (1) shall be accompanied
by a fee as specified in rule 7 of the central rules.
(3)
The District Commission shall, while disposing off any complaint,
follow the procedure as provided in sections 36, 37, 38 and 39.
Rule - 12. Procedure in respect of complaints before State Commission.
(1)
A complaint shall be presented to the State Commission by
the complainant in person or by his authorized agent, or be sent by a
registered post or by electronic mode, if facility is available with the
Commission, addressed to the State Commission, containing the following
particulars, namely:-
(a)
the name, description, address, email ID, mobile number
of the complainant;
(b)
the name, description and address of the opposite party
or parties, as the case may be, so far as they can be ascertained;
(c)
the facts relating to the complaint and when and where it
arose;
(d)
the documents in support of the allegations contained in
the complaint along with Index;
(e)
the relief which the complainant claims; and
(f)
verification of the facts of the complaint.
(2)
Every complaint under sub-rule (1) shall be accompanied
by a fee as specified in rule 7 of the central rules.
(3)
The State Commission shall, while disposing off any
complaint before it, follow the procedure as provided in sections 36, 37, 38
and 39, with such modifications as may be considered necessary by it.
Rule - 13. Mediation cell.
(1)
Every mediation cell attached to the State Commission or
District Commission, shall have a panel of mediators prepared on the
recommendations of a selection committee consisting of the President and a
member of that Commission.
(2)
The number of mediators in each mediation cell shall be
such as may be determined by the State Commission in consultation with the
State Government.
Rule - 14. Place of sitting, working days, office hours and other matters relating to District Commission.
(1)
The office of the District Commission shall be located at
the headquarter of the District. If the State Government decides to establish a
single District Commission having jurisdiction over more than one District, it
shall notify the place and jurisdiction of the District Commission so
established.
(2)
The working days and the office hours of the District
Commission shall be the same as that of the State Government.
(3)
The official seal and emblem of the District Commission
shall be such as the State Government may specify.
(4)
Sitting of the District Commission, as and when necessary,
shall be convened by the President.
(5)
No act or proceedings of the District Commission shall be
invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy among its members or any
defect in its constitution.
Rule - 15. Place of sitting, working days, office hours and other matters relating to State Commission.
(1)
Office of the State Commission shall be located at the
capital of the State.
(2)
Regional Benches of the State Commission shall function
at Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bikaner, Kota, Ajmer and Bharatpur and such other places,
as may be notified by the State Government.
(3)
The working days and the office hours of the State
Commission shall be the same as that of the State Government.
(4)
The official seal and emblem of the State Commission
shall be such as the State Government may specify.
(5)
Sitting of the State Commission, as and when necessary,
shall be convened by the President.
(6)
Every proceeding of the State Commission shall be
conducted by members of a Bench constituted by the President of the State
Commission with one or more members as he may deem fit. If the bench is
constituted by more than one member, preferably one member from judicial
background must be included in such bench and the member from judicial
background shall preside over the Bench and if the bench is constituted by a
single member, preferably it shall be constituted with a member from the
judicial background.
(7)
No act or proceedings of the State Commission shall be
invalid by reasons only of the existence of any vacancy among its Members or
any defect in its constitution thereof.
Rule - 16. Miscellaneous.
If there is no
specific provision in these rules to carry out the provisions of the Act, the
provisions of the rules and regulations made by the Central Government or
National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Rule - 17. Repeal and savings.
(1) The
Consumer Protection (Rajasthan) Rules, 1987 is hereby repealed:
Provided that the
such repeal shall not affect,
(a)
the previous operation of the rules so repealed or
anything duly done or any action taken thereunder, or
(b)
any right, liability or obligation or liability acquired,
accrued or incurred under the rules so repealed.
SCHEDULE
(see rule 10)
Functions of Consumer Commissions in
the State
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1. Establishment
of State Commission and District Fora :
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I
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Total number of
districts in State
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II
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Total number of
District Commissions in the State
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(a) Total setup
:
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(b) Functional :
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(c)
Non-functional :
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(d) Number of
districts where District Commissions yet to be setup :
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(e) Name of
districts where District Commissions yet to be setup :
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(f) Number of
districts in which more than one District Commission is established
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District Name
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No. of District
Commission
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III
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Whether State
Commission functional
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Yes No
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IV
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Strength and
Vacancies
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State Commission
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District
Commission
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Sanctioned
Strength
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Vacancies
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Sanctioned
Strength
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Vacancies
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(a) President
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(b) Members
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(c) Reason for
Vacancies and Action taken to fill up the same (to be enclosed separately)
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2.
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Performance of
State Commission and District Commission
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I
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(a) Total cases
filed since inception
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State
Commission/District Commission
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(b) Cases
disposed of
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(c) Cases
disposed of within prescribed time norms
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(d) Number of
cases disposed of by Lok Adalat method
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II
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Detailed Break
up of cases pending (give number of cases)
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State
Commission/District Commission
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(a) Over 3
monthupto 1 year
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(b) Over 1
yearupto 2 years
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(c) Over 2 years
upto 5 years
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(d) Over 5 years
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III
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Cases disposed
of within time norms (give number)
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State
Commission/District Commission
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(a) Cases
received after 15 March 02
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(b) Cases
disposed of within time norms out of (a) above (Number and %)
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3.
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Implementation
of Confonet Project
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Computer
Hardware/software has
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State
Commission/District Commission
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It yes, provide
number and detail
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1
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(a) been
received
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Yes
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No
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(b) been
installed
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Yes
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No
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(c) been
functional
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Yes
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No
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Activities being
done through computers
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State
Commission/District Commission
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II
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(a) In case
Monitoring System Installed &Operational ;
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Yes
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No
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(b) Has the live
case data been entered ?
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Yes
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No
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(c) Whether
Cause list and judgment being posted on the website
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Yes
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No
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4.
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Training
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(a)
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Training of
Members/President in Indian Institute of Public Administration
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To be
trained in the year as per training plan
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Trained so far
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During the
quarter
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(b)
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Training of
State/District level Officers in BIS Training Institute
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(c)
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(a) President
and Members
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(b) Other Staff
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(d)
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Any other
Training
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