New Delhi, Jan 21 (PTI) The Supreme Court Friday said that the revisional jurisdiction of the National Consumer Commission is extremely limited and should be exercised in a case where there is material irregularity.
A bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Bela M Trivedi said though the party can produce additional evidence at the appellate stage, the same has to be within the law.
“The revisional jurisdiction of the National Commission under Section 21(b) of the said Act is extremely limited. “It should be exercised only in the case as contemplated within the parameters specified in the said provision, namely when it appears to the National Commission that the State Commission had exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it by law, or had failed to exercise a jurisdiction so vested, or had acted in the exercise of its jurisdiction illegally or with material irregularity,” the bench said. The top court was hearing an appeal filed by a man who had filed the consumer case before the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Purba Medinipur in West Bengal concerning his bank account in the State Bank of India.
The Consumer Forum after appreciating all the documents filed by the appellant as well as by the respondents allowed the complaint.
The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, West Bengal partly allowed the appeal. The bank being aggrieved by the said order had preferred the Revision Petition before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.
The NCDRC allowed the revision application filed by the bank.
The apex court said the National Commission exceeded its revisional jurisdiction by calling for the report from the bank and solely relying upon such report, had come to the conclusion that the two fora below had erred in not undertaking the requisite in-depth appraisal of the case that was required.PTI PKS RKS RKS
