Vacancies, rising backlog, non-transparency weaken consumer dispute redressal system in India: report

Former Supreme Court judge Justice S.K. Kaul, who released the report, said the vacancy crisis and backlog are eroding public confidence. He cautioned that failure to operationalise legislative intent defeats the purpose of law.

Sharing the findings of the report, Valay Singh, co-founder and lead, IJR, said that case pendency has risen steeply between 2020 and 2024 by 21%, with the number of cases increasing to more than 5.15 lakh from around 88,000. This far exceeds the timelines prescribed under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which mandates disposal within three to five months.

States such as Kerala, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir have 70%–80% of cases pending beyond three years, the report finds.

“About half of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (SCDRCs) and one-third of district commissions were functioning without a president. Nearly 40% of sanctioned member posts were vacant. In several States, including Tamil Nadu, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, SCDRCs had no members at all,” the report read.

The report notes that more than one-third of cases have remained unresolved for over three years, Mr. Singh said, adding that most State consumer commissions were reluctant to share data through RTI while the district commissions performed better on this front.

Highlighting poor representation of women in consumer courts, the report stated that the same has declined from 35% in 2021 to 29% in 2025, reaching a low of 23.2% in 2024, with only Delhi and Sikkim having women presidents that year.

Reviewing the performances of State consumer commissions, the report finds that among larger States, Andhra Pradesh ranked highest in case disposal, with only 4.8% of cases pending beyond three years. In contrast, Telangana ranked last. Meghalaya topped the small States category. Maharashtra recorded the highest case filings but a low clearance rate, with 65% of cases pending.

The report notes that 88.5% of 7.64 lakh cases filed between 2020 and 2024 were disposed of, with Tamil Nadu achieving the highest clearance rate of 114.6%.

The findings follow the recent intervention by the Supreme Court of India in February 2026, when it invoked Article 142 of the Constitution to allow High Courts to hear consumer appeals where the commissions are non-functional.

The report also flagged the limited use of mediation and inadequate gender representation.

It calls for urgent reforms, including time-bound appointments, improved staffing, better budget utilisation, and greater reliance on alternative dispute resolution to address mounting pendency.