BIZ TODAY REPORT
KARACHI: If the Sindh government cannot establish consumer courts as enshrined in the Sindh Consumer Protection Act-2015, due to paucity of resources, it should immediately empower the existing lower courts in the province to hear and adjudicate complaints of consumers. This was stated by Chairperson of Sindh Human Rights’ Commission Justice (retired) Majida Razvi who is also a Trustee of the Helpline Trust.
She was speaking at a press conference arranged by the Helpline Trust and National Forum for Environment and Health (NFEH) at the Karachi Press Club to call for the immediate setting up of Consumer Courts.
“No doubt establishment of consumer courts like any other court is a cumbersome and lengthy procedure as it involves construction of infrastructure, appointment of judges and other staff, and allocating budget for their working, so it is better that for now existing lower courts should be empowered to hear complaints of consumers till the time separate consumer courts are established in the province,” said Justice Majida Razvi
She suggested that the lower courts could spare some time of the day to hear and decide on complaints of consumers and they should be given value and honour like in other parts of the world.
The retired Justice said that as head of the Sindh Human Rights Commission she looked at it as a rights based issue.
Founding Trustee of Helpline Trust Hamid Maker said that consumers in the province had no legal mechanism available to them under which their fundamental rights could be protected to save them from exploitation and fleecing. Answering a question, she also cited the non -implementation of the law against sale of Gutka that was harming health.
He said that this was only because the government completely failed to implement Sindh Consumer Protection Act-2015 and despite passage of over two years.
President of Nfeh Pak Naeem Qureshi pointed out the importance of consumer protection, in view of the threats to health through counterfeit and sub standard medicines and environmental degradation.
He said that much-needed consumer courts in every district required to adjudicate cases on basis of complaints of consumers, could not be
established without implementing Sindh Consumer Protection Act.
He said that fleecing, fraud, counterfeiting, exploitation, and adulteration by sellers and manufacturers of sub-standard goods and fraudulent services would continue without any check and consumers in Sindh have no institutionalized mechanism to lodge complaints as the government failed to enforce the Consumer Protection Law.
This was despite the fact that during hearing of a petition, the Sindh High Court had also asked the government to explain the delay.
Helpline Trustee Afia Salam acknowledged the role of Sharmila Farooqi in the passage of the law for which various consumer rights bodies had been working for many years. However, she said that while the Sindh Government always claimed credit for progressive legislation, it was found wanting in implementation. She said that since every single citizen was also a consumer, it should be seen as a joint demand that should be met immediately, and requested the media to play its role in taking the message to the government.
Another Helpline Trustee, Capt. (Retd) farooq Harekar said that while the government officials responded to queries about the Rules of Business, there is no actual progress in setting up of the courts in all districts of Sindh.
Dr. Qazi Ahmed Kamal, another Trustee of Helpline Trust who also represents Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said that government should realize establishing consumer courts would be like the win-win situation for all be the customers, sellers, and manufacturers and it would also further promote good image of the govt.
“I don’t see any reason that the govt has been continuously delaying setting up of consumer courts as it would suggest a peaceful and free of cost method for resolving grievances of customers, which otherwise result in noisy quarrels we often witness at shopping centres,” he said.
Trustee Farkhunda expressed the frustration at the fleecing of the poor by the middle men who arbitrarily raised prices of essential food items and the consumers had no recourse to justice.
