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New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Hilli Multipurpose Cold Storage Pvt. Ltd.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal Nos. 10941-10942 of 2013)Decided 4 Dec 2015
Civil Appeal Nos. 10941-10942 of 2013
Justice Anil R. Dave · Justice Vikramajit Sen · Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose

Background

This judgment answers a question of law; it does not decide the case itself. A three-judge Bench was asked whether a District Forum may grant the opposite party time beyond the 45-day cap, made up of 30 days plus an extension of 15 days, to file its version under Section 13(2)(a) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Decision Breakdown

This is not a final judgment in the case itself. The Court held that the three-judge Bench decision in Dr. J.J. Merchant v. Shrinath Chaturvedi (2002) holds the field, so no extension beyond 45 days is permitted. It rejected the contrary view in Kailash v. Nanhku (2005). The judgment does not state how the civil appeals themselves are decided.

Lesson Learnt

A District Forum cannot allow more than 45 days for the opposite party to file its reply to a consumer complaint. There is no final ruling yet on these particular appeals.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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