The Supreme Court has instructed states to fill all vacancies in the state consumer dispute redressal panels within eight weeks. The court slammed authorities for the vacancies in the national consumer tribunal and delaying the process of filling them.
The court noted that the way Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, and Jharkhand are acting is unacceptable. The court accused these states of not wanting their citizens to get redressal, reported NDTV.
The top court sarcastically asked the state government of Bihar if it was waiting for an auspicious moment to fill up the vacancies. The court ordered every state to set up a selection committee within four weeks and advertise all existing and potential vacancies within two weeks. If the order is not followed, the model rule by the centre will automatically apply.
The central government is instructed to file a status report about the vacancies and infrastructure of these tribunals. The top court also told the centre not to dash the hopes of people.
The Supreme Court said that the government raises the public's hopes of getting redressal but does not fulfil them. The court added that if the centre is asking the states to fill up vacancies, that needs to be done. "You need to have a requisite number of people to deal with the cases."