Three Tiers For Redressal

Every district has one district forum and now, after an amendment to the CPA in 1993, there is a provision in the Act for having more than one district forum in a district should the need arise. The bench of the district forum and the state commission consists of three persons while that of the national commission, five persons.

It has been the query of many readers as to who consitutes the bench of this three-ier redressal machinery and how is it ensured that the people appointed on the bench are really impartial and people of integrity.

The composition of the district forum is discussed in section 10 of the CPA. The presiding officer of the district forum is a judicial officer. He is a person who is or who has been or is qualified to be a district judge. The other two persons on the bench should be individuals of ability, integrity and standing who have adequate knowledge or experience in dealing with problems relating to economics, law, commerce, accountancy, industry, public affairs or administration, one of whom shall be a woman.

Section 16 of the CPA lays down that the president of the state commission shall be a person who is a sitting or a retired high court judge. The other two members shall be persons with similar qualifications as those prescribed for members of the district forum, one of whom has to be a woman.

The national commission consists of a president who is or has been a judge of the supreme court. The other four members (including, at least, one woman) should have qualifications similar to the members of the district forum and the state commission (section 20).

The 1993 amendment to the CPA provides for a selection committee which chooses the bench for the three-tiered redressal agencies. There are thus enough provisions in the CPA to ensure that truly capable people staff the bench at all three levels.