Jharkhand High Court
Shriram General Insurance Company ... vs The State Of Jharkhand Through ... on 2 May, 2025
Author: Gautam Kumar Choudhary
Bench: Gautam Kumar Choudhary
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI
W.P. (C) No. 1102 of 2025
Shriram General Insurance Company Limited, Office at E-8, EPIP, Rico
Industrial area, P.O. & P.S.-Sitapur, Dist.-Jaipur (Rajasthan), represented
through Legal executive/ authorized signatory Pandey Priyanshu Nath Roy,
Shriram General Insurance Company Limited office at 2nd floor, Jha Niwash,
Opposite Yuvraj Place Hotel Diversion Road, P.O. & P.S.-Doranda, Ranchi
District-Ranchi (Jharkhand) .... .... Petitioner
Versus
1. The State of Jharkhand through Department of Food, Public Distribution and
Consumer Affairs, Project Bhawan, Dhurwa, P.O. & P.S.-Dhurwa, District-
Ranchi (Jharkhand)
2. The Registrar, Jharkhand State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissioner,
Ranchi, P.O. & P.S.-Doranda, District-Ranchi (Jharkhand)
3. Prakash Sharma, S/o Suresh Sharma, R/o Fulwariya, P.O. Fulwariya, P.S.-
Nawalsahi, District-Koderma (Jharkhand).
... .... Respondents
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GAUTAM KUMAR CHOUDHARY
For the Petitioner : Mr. Amresh Kumar, Advocate
For the Respondents-State : Mr. Amrit Raj Kisku, AC to GA-V
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Order No. 02 / Dated : 02.05.2025.
The petitioner is the Insurance Company and this writ petition has been
filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for a direction upon the
District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum, Koderma not to proceed with
Execution Application No. 02/2024 for execution of the judgment passed on
06.09.2023 in Consumer Complaint Case No. 16/2019.
The main ground for filing the instant writ petition is that the President of
the State Consumer Forum, Ranchi has not been appointed by the State
Government and consequently in view of Section 47(2) of the Consumer
Protection Act, 2019, no Bench can be constituted for hearing the appeals arising
out of the order passed by the State Consumer Forum, resulting in it becoming
defunct.
Against this backdrop, a prayer is made for restraining the Executing
Court from proceeding till the Corum of the State Consumer Forum is complete.
It is further submitted that the Co-ordinate Bench of this Court has stayed
number of orders passed by the District Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum as
the Corum is not available.
Appeal is a valuable right given to a party by statute and cannot be
deprived by executive in action. State Government is under a mandate of law
under Section 42 of the Consumer Protection Act to constitute State and District
Consumer Forums. Because of the vacancies not being filled up, ultimately it is
consumer/litigant who has to suffer. Situation is further aggravated, once a
consumer has won a case before the District Forum and yet denied relief because
the State Consumer Forum is non-functional.
Under the circumstance, the respondent-State is directed to file counter
affidavit stating specifically that what steps are being taken for filling up the
vacancy in the State Consumer Forum and what is the time line in which it will
be completed. Affidavit to be sworn by the Chief Secretary, Government of
Jharkhand, Ranchi.
Put up this case on 12.06.2025.
In the meantime, the order passed by the District Consumer Dispute
Redressal Forum, Koderma is stayed.
(Gautam Kumar Choudhary, J.)
Pawan/ -
