New Delhi, July 29 (IANS) The number of consumer complaints pending in commissions and district fora across the country at the start of 2025 has risen by 12,021 in the first seven months of the current year, the Rajya Sabha was informed.

Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution B. L. Verma said in a written reply that as many as 76,318 consumer complaints were filed in courts across the country this year till July 22.

During this period, as many as 64,297 consumer cases, including those which were filed in previous years, were disposed of in consumer courts, the minister said.

Thus, the number of fresh complaints filed this year is higher by 12,021 than the number of matters disposed by consumer fora till July 22, 2025.

The MoS, in response to questions by MPs Kavita Patidar and Manan Kumar Mishra on pending cases in consumer commissions, said the number of matters filed from 2022 till July 22 this year is 5.99 lakh.

The Minister said that as many as 5.91 lakh consumer complaints have been disposed of by consumer courts from 2022 till July 22 this year. The matters disposed of also included backlog from previous years.

In 2024, as many as 1,73,160 consumer complaints were filed, while 1,58,290 cases, including backlog from previous years, were disposed of, as shown in data shared by the Minister.

The number of consumer cases filed in 2022 and 2023 was 1,75,676 and 1,74,278, respectively. The number of cases disposed of during 2022 and 2023 was 1,82,870 and 1,85,777, respectively.

MoS Verma informed the Rajya Sabha that 685 district consumer courts are functional across the country, in addition to 10 benches of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and 35 benches of State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions (SCDRC).

A maximum of 79 district consumer fora are operating in Uttar Pradesh, followed by 48 in Madhya Pradesh, the MoS said.

He said that to serve the interest of speedy justice to the end consumers, the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 states that no adjournment shall ordinarily be granted by the consumer commissions unless sufficient cause is shown and the reasons for the grant of adjournment have been recorded in writing by the Commission.

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019, says that every complaint shall be disposed of as expeditiously as possible and endeavour shall be made to decide the complaint within a period of three months from the date of receipt of notice by opposite party where the complaint does not require analysis or testing of commodities and within five months if it requires analysis or testing of commodities.

–IANS

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