Government plans consumer law overhaul to speed up dispute resolution and reduce backlog

New Delhi: The has proposed a set of reforms to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, intended to ease the burden of pending cases and expedite dispute resolution through greater use of artificial intelligence and digital systems.

The Department of Consumer Affairs convened a consultation in New Delhi to deliberate on the proposed changes, which include enforcing stricter timelines for case disposal and incorporating technology such as AI and machine learning in the redressal process.

Consumer Affairs Secretary Nidhi Khare said the current law provides a three-month timeline for regular cases and five months for those involving testing. However, she underlined that “no case should remain pending beyond six months,” according to an official statement.

“The government is committed to timely consumer justice,” Khare said, highlighting ongoing efforts through the e-JAGRITI digital filing platform and the National Consumer Helpline, which handles over 1.2 million complaints every year.

The consultation brought together state officials, members of consumer commissions, representatives from voluntary organisations, national law universities, and industry bodies including FICCI, CII, and ASSOCHAM.

Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi, president of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, called for “regular performance audits and stronger technological support,” while noting that “human judgment must remain central to justice delivery despite AI assistance.”

Among the proposed measures are real-time case tracking, virtual hearings, digital submissions, and multilingual access through AI-powered translation tools. Officials also underlined the need to fill vacancies across district consumer commissions and strengthen basic infrastructure.

India’s consumer protection system has received recognition from the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) for its pre-litigation resolution model, with over 1,150 companies linked to the national helpline that resolves a significant number of cases within 21 days.