ગુજરાતી
English
If a leader cheats, there is no court to file a case
Dilip Patel
Ahmedabad, July 30, 2025
A person becomes a consumer as soon as he is born. When he dies, he becomes a consumer of insurance companies and medical claims. We buy goods and services every morning, sometimes even become victims of fraud. But if politicians cheat, there is no system to challenge them in the electoral court.
The consumer is not a voter, so the government does not care about him. There is no separate ministry. They are kept with food security. So 40 thousand consumers do not get justice. The BJP government is doing injustice. There are no 50 percent judges. We have to wait 7 to 10 years for a decision.
When politicians cheat us, no law is implemented. The consumer is cheated and even if the consumer goes to court for justice, he is cheated without justice for years. Modi has also reached Delhi by deceiving the public in the same way.
Former Chief Minister Narendra Modi had promised and assured the people of Gujarat on 3 May 2003 that he would set up recognized consumer protection boards in all 225 talukas of the state. He would make the activities of other boards result-oriented in the wider interest of consumers. He would intensify efforts to create awareness and consciousness among consumers about their interests and rights. The interests of consumers will be protected in the consumer protection movement in Gujarat.
In a meeting on consumer protection, when it was decided to make consumer protection activities more effective and faster in the consumer interests in Gujarat, Modi had made this promise 22 years ago, but till date it has not been fully implemented.
22 years ago there were 49 consumer protection boards, today there are 53. Modi did nothing. 250 consumer protection boards were to be formed per taluka. They were not formed. The state’s Civil Supplies and Consumer Protection Minister was Kaushik Patel. The secretary was H.K. Das.
But since the government is not providing judges in the consumer courts of Gujarat, 40 thousand cases are being registered. Which should have been resolved in 6 months according to the law, but this is not happening.
In 2025, the minister of the department is Kunwarji Bavaliya. Who rarely visits consumer organizations. But visits water supply and irrigation projects more. The Consumer Protection Act is in force in India since 1986, but consumers are not made aware of their rights.
No Judges
In April 2025, the Supreme Court had to issue an order to fill the vacant posts in the consumer courts of the state. 4 years ago, 39 thousand cases were pending in the consumer courts of Gujarat. There were vacancies of 18 judges, 35 members in 26 consumer commissions of the district. There has been no improvement in this. Out of 38 districts, 12 judges are working. Judges are sent to other districts. Complaints are pending without justice in consumer grievance redressal. When a complaint is filed in the commission, the complaints are not settled within three months, whereas it should be.
In 2025, 3 posts of members are vacant in the Gujarat State Consumer Forum, while 22 posts of chairman and 46 posts of members are vacant in the District Commission. The posts of members are vacant in the District Consumer Forum. The posts of manager are vacant in the District Grievance Forum. Due to inadequate human resources, the number of pending complaints in the Consumer Grievance Redressal Commission is constantly increasing.
Clubs and injustice
The government is making money by forming 2500 consumer clubs. But it does not provide judges. Because the consumer is not a direct voter. According to the Gujarat Consumer Protection Rules, there is a rule to settle the complaint within 90 to 150 days of filing it, but the BJP government is not paying attention to it.
Cases
12 years ago, till November 2012, 1 lakh 72 thousand cases were registered. 12 thousand cases were pending in the consumer courts of the state. Thus, the cases are not settled every year. As per the provisions of the rules, prompt resolution of consumer complaints is necessary. In cases where the consumer’s complaint does not require further analysis of the goods, the complaint must be settled within three months of receiving the notice and in cases where analysis or testing of the goods is required, the complaint must be settled within five months.
The government itself is a fraud
The Modi government has also started the e-awareness portal, which is a scam. In which a bluff is being conducted. There are 15 thousand pending complaints in Ahmedabad. But only 1414 pending claims are visible on Modi’s portal.
Complaints
During the year 2024, 2477 complaints were registered in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Gujarat. 2214 were settled.
19,723 complaints were registered in the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, out of which 15,820 cases were settled.
3 thousand crimes occur every year. In most of these cases, justice is not delivered for more than 150 days.
Cases involving goods and services above Rs 50 lakh and up to Rs 2 crore are filed in the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. Apart from this, appeals can be made to the State Commission against the decisions given by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions. The helpline phone number is – 14437. Gujarat State
The toll-free number of the State Consumer Helpline is 1800-233-0222.
7 years delay
Under the Gujarat Consumer Protection Rules, the rule is to settle the complaint within 90 to 150 days of its filing. The cases of 2017-18 are going on in 2025. Dates keep coming. Insurance cases are increasing. People who planted trees are waiting for 7 years. They pay the premium, but lakhs of people are troubled. 24 private companies are harassing the public in giving insurance. People are also facing trouble for medical claims.
The Commission has no chairman.
The post has been vacant for 3 months since the resignation of retired Chairman of the State Consumer Commission, Ashutosh Shastri of the Supreme Court. The posts of employees and members are vacant.
The Consumer Protection Act is in force since 2020. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Ahmedabad
Is operational. In 2024, 8718 claims were pending. Which increased to 9 thousand in 2025.
There are 56 consumer protection boards in the state.
District Consumer Dispute Resolution Commission
Gujarat has five district commissions.
In 2022, 10 thousand cases were pending. Which increased to 39,047 in 2024.
Earlier 9 thousand disputes used to come, now 21600 disputes are coming every year.
12 thousand cases were settled in 2023. 4201 cases were settled in 2024.
There are 21 consumer counseling centers. Always insist on taking a valid bill while purchasing every item.
Measurement and weights department
The most fraud with consumers happens in the weights and weights department. But now insurance and medical claims also come, but the government has not made any separate arrangement for this in the weights and measures department.
One and a half lakh businesses were inspected in the year
Poor performance compared to last year
Weight related offences registered against 6689
Packing related offences 1079
Rs 32 crore recovered in the year from fee collection
50 weight-weight offences registered after inspecting 8184 petrol pumps
351 weight-weight offences registered after inspecting 6365 mandis
68 offences registered after inspecting 7 thousand weighing scales
30 offences registered after inspecting 4800 shops
1855 offences registered after inspecting 31 thousand vegetable vendors
650 offences registered after inspecting 14 thousand sweet shops
150 offences registered after inspecting 12 thousand Sony shops
250 offences registered after inspecting 8600 milk pouches
429 offences registered for overcharging
257 offences registered for giving less goods
Complaints have been registered against service providers like doctors, hospitals. Lawyers, Chartered Accountants, Builders, Developers, LIC, Private & Public Sector Insurance Companies, Oil Companies, CNG, PNG, Schools-Colleges, Universities, Educational Institutions, Tour & Travels etc as well as Manufacturers, Traders, Firms.
State-Pending Claims
Gujarat 40288
Maharashtra 82708
Rajasthan 51431
Delhi 23656
Bihar 23020
Andhra Pradesh 5142
Haryana 34097
Chhattisgarh 8041
Karnataka 17688
Kerala 24497
Madhya Pradesh 35617
Tamil Nadu 9152
West Bengal 16873
Punjab 17003
