THE DIGITAL TURN IN CONSUMER JURISPRUDENCE: RECONCILING STATUTORY VELOCITY WITH SYSTEMIC REALITIES

At the centre of the consumer protection regime in India is the fact that all consumers have an enforceable right to timely and effective redress in any defective goods, unfair trade practices, and lack of proper services. Still, there is a longstanding and significant gap between the legal obligation to administer justice on time and the actual implementation of this obligation. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 signed under the proclaimed intention of providing safe goods and assured customers establishes a three-level quasi-judicial system that is composed of the District, State, and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions. This framework was designed in such a way that it offers affordable, convenient and affordable resolution of consumer complaints. However, systemic inefficiencies in reality have been crippling it more and more. The growing number of cases pending, the existence of chronic vacancies in the office of judicial and member positions, lack of proper infrastructure and clogging of procedures have all undermined the primary objective of the Act, which is to ensure speedy adjudication. In many cases, a process that was meant to be a fast-track alternative to the traditional civil litigation has resulted in extended legal cases, which in turn destroys the social trust and compromises the quality of consumer justice. Despite such technological innovations as the E-Daakhil portal of electronic filing, the Consumer Protection (Mediation) Regulations, 2020, and the introduction of virtual hearings, which are the aspects of institutional modernisation, they will not work effectively without strict adherence and structural support. Effective consumer empowerment must be neither just legislatively designed but also competently enforced on a sustained basis that may transform legal rights into a factual, practical solution.