Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, July 2: Full Bench of State High Court comprising Chief Justice N Paul Vasanthakumar, Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar and Justice AM Magrey has held that State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission is empowered to order investigation by the police if forged document is filed before the Commission.
The Full Bench further held that Commission while discharging judicial duties in terms of Section 11(5) of the J&K Consumer Protection Act, 1987, is empowered to call report for arriving at a just decision in the complaint filed before it.
This landmark judgment has been passed in bunch of petitions for which the Larger Bench was constituted pursuant to reference made on 13.03.2014 with reference to the orders made by a Division Bench of High Court for answering an issue as to whether the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission can issue directions to the police to register the case and investigate the matter and the question with regard to jurisdiction of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission to call for the report by appointing a Commission and decide the matter.
Full Bench, on perusal of the statutory provisions, observed, “it is evident that the Divisional Forum/ State Commission shall have to exercise the same powers as are vested in the Civil Court under the Code of Civil Procedure and every proceeding before the Divisional Forum shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of Sections 193 and 228 of the Ranbir Penal Code and the Divisional Forum shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purposes of Section 195 and Chapter XVII of the Code of Criminal Procedure”.
“Once it is treated as Civil Court, the State Commission can follow the procedures as prescribed for the Divisional Forums which are treated as judicial forum, within the meaning of Section 193 and 228 of the R.P.C, the powers vested in Civil Court can be exercised by the State Commission”, Full Bench said, adding “it is not in dispute that the Civil Court is empowered to appoint Commission to find out the true nature of facts to arrive at a just conclusion. It is well settled proposition of law that courts/judicial forums are duty bound to find out the truth while deciding disputes between the parties and for finding the truth the court/judicial forum is entitled to appoint a Commission and based on the report to be filed by the Commission and after giving liberty to the parties to dispute to file objections about the report of the Commission, the Court/Judicial forum can arrive at a conclusion”.
“Thus, appointment of a Commission is within the ambit and power of the State Commission, which is empowered to order investigation by the concerned police if forged document is filed before it”, the Bench said.
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