The Supreme Court has asked why a show cause contempt notice should not be issued against the Principal Secretary of the Uttar Pradesh government, Veena Kumari, for allegedly not complying with its earlier orders with respect to the working of the consumer courts in the state.
A three-judge bench of the top court, headed by Justice AM Khanwilkar and also comprising Justices BR Gavai and Krishna Murari, in its order on December 18, however, said that "the personal presence of the alleged contemnor is dispensed with."
The bench, which was hearing the contempt petition filed by NGO Bhartiya Upbhokta Sanrakshan Samiti through its group of lawyers, including Prashant Shukla, Shreya Mishra and others, also sought a response within four weeks from Veena Kumari and posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks.
The plea sought directions to summon and punish all the alleged contemnors including Veena Kumari and others for committing wilful disobedience and gross contempt of several orders especially the Supreme Court's orders dated November 21, 2016, and September 11, 2018.
During the hearing, Mr Shukla had told the Supreme Court that the situation of "district fora is so pathetic that most of these are running with three to four staff", including peon and judicial members.
"At the very outset, the petitioner highlighted the dismal/woeful condition of the Consumer Fora functioning within the country. The deficiency of infrastructure in the adjudicatory fora constituted under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 has led to several directions of this Court in the course of the proceedings in the case," Mr Shukla said.
The plea the primary objective of the petitioner was to seek fulfilment and redressal of the mandate and objectives of the Consumer Protection Act.
It said Uttar Pradesh has defeated the purpose and object of the Consumer Protection Act. The quality of presiding members, especially of non-judicial members at the state and district levels is poor, it added.
Restrictive Statutory Provisions Don't Prevent Bail: Supreme Court Publish NEET-UG Results City-Wise And Centre-Wise, Supreme Court Tells NTA "Like Nazi Germany": UP Police Under Fire For Kanwar Yatra Rule World's Largest Isolated Tribe Makes Rare Appearance In New Footage Relationship Timeline Of Hardik Pandya, Wife Who "Parted Ways": 5 Facts 3 Passengers Die As Chandigarh-Dibrugarh Express Derails In UP Delhi University Inviting Applications For Course In Pali/Tibetan Hegemonistic Ambitions: Tibet PM-In-Exile On China Renaming Places In India 7 Killed, 3 Injured As Taxi Falls Into Roadside Well In Maharashtra: Report Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.