NCDRC appeal against SCDRC order

If you received a final order from the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission – popularly known as SCDRC or the State Commission – and wish to challenge the order in a higher forum, you should know about all the possible remedies available to you before approaching the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (“NCDRC”). Consumer disputes in India are mainly decided by a three-tier quasi-judicial machinery known as the Consumer Courts. First is the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, which is followed by the SCDRC, and finally, the National Commission.

Order passed by the SCDRC comes with its own set of unique challenges. Based on the facts and evidence presented by you or the Opposite Party, if the SCDRC passes an order against you, you can approach the National Commission to set aside the decision taken by the SCDRC. Similarly, if you as a consumer are aggrieved by an SCDRC order dismissing your complaint against a builder or bank, you can file an appeal against such order directly with the NCDRC.

The bottom-line is that filing an NCDRC appeal against SCDRC order is your absolute right under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and you must exercise the same judiciously when you are faced with a legally vulnerable order from the State Commission.

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

All said and done, most consumers generally have very limited knowledge about how NCDRC works or the unique procedures prescribed for filing appeals against state commission orders. Whether the issue is regarding delay in handing over possession of a property worth Rs. 3 crores by your builder or an insurance claim of Rs. 50 lakh has been wrongly repudiated by your insurance company or you have suffered severe financial injuries due to medical negligence – moving a National level forum means dealing with stringent limitation, procedural protocols and a very sharp focus on the questions of law.

The mental stress on consumers or companies when they lose a State Commission order involving a huge sum of money can be nerve-wracking. At such times, it is essential that you seek the help of a trained professional who can handle the case on your behalf and protect your consumer rights. Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh are best placed to handle your appeal against the SCDRC order and we will draft your appeal highlighting the patent infirmities in the order passed by the State Commission.

Importance of Approaching the Right Lawyers For Filing Appeal Against SCDRC Orders

As mentioned above, over the years consumer jurisprudence in India has evolved into a complex structure where only a professional would be able to effectively navigate through the quagmire that is appellate litigation. Remember that the money involved in a typical SCDRC appeal is massive since only those matters with a claim value exceeding Rs. 1 crore are admitted by the state commissions. As such, most litigants who choose to file their own appeals end up getting them rejected at the admission stage itself. Why? Because they follow a generic approach.

For the NCDRC to allow you to challenge an order of the State Commission, you must clearly point out to the NCDRC that either the state commission has-

• Exercised its jurisdiction erroneously
• Acted with material irregularity
• Decided a question of law, correctly settled.

Or that there has been a miscarriage of justice. Notice that the NCDRC which hears appeals from New Delhi, India’s capital has no patience for appeals complaining of mere factual errors. If you wish to be successful before the National Commission, you need to first convert your grievance into a clean cut question of law.

Both corporate houses, builder companies and consumers can benefit from the experience and expertise of Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh. Our teams will carefully analyse the order of the State Commission and tell you where it went wrong.

Capsule: Important Rules to Remember While Filing Appeals Before NCDRC

Pecuniary Jurisdiction: FOR PROTECTION OF THE PARTIES FROM ARBITRARY DECISIONS OF THE STATE COMMISSIONS. Appeal should be based on Material Irregularity, Jurisdictional Error or Miscarriage of Justice.

Appeal against order of SCDRC

An appeal before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission against an order passed by a State Commission is known as an “Appeal”.

Explanation. For the purposes of this section, every party aggrieved by an order passed by the State Commission in the exercise of its original jurisdiction shall be deemed to be aggrieved.

In India, the right to appeal is statutory in nature. No one has the right to appeal at common law. Thus, for maintainability of an appeal before the NCDRC, the appellant needs to fulfill all the conditions mentioned under Section 51 of CPA, 2019.

Consumer Protection Act, 2019, established a new three-tier quasi-judicial system with the following definitions.

• National Commission
• State Commission
• District Forum

Appeal against State Commission order is filed before National Commission.

Definition of Appeal

“Appeal” means an appeal to the National Commission against the order of the State Commission

Appeals to be filed under Section 51 before the National Commission

Appeals shall lie as a matter of right from the orders of the State Commission to the National Commission and shall be entertained by the National Commission only if the appellant has deposited 50 per cent. of the amount ordered by the State Commission:

Provided that no appeal shall lie from an order of the State Commission:

• As passed by it in the exercise of its appellate jurisdiction.
• Examined and decided by the National Commission in appeal or revision.

Appeal – Conventional vs Revision Petition

Whether the order in question is passed by the State Commission in appeal or revision is critical because the appeal before the NCDRC lies under Section 51 whereas a revision petition would lie under Section 58(1)(b). Additionally, the grounds on which an appeal and revision can be filed vary from each other.

You may get confused between filing an appeal vs filing a revision petition since both are filed before the NCDRC; however, the procedural distinctions cannot be stressed enough.

So who should file?

Consumers and companies should file an appeal before the NCDRC against SCDRC order in the following circumstances:

• The builder or residential complex association has been directed by SCDRC to compensate the consumer for delays caused by the builder
• Even though there were sufficient reasons to cause delay like Force Majeure Events, Government policy changes, etc., SCDRC has refused to exercise its discretion and reduced the compensation owed by the builder.
• Insurance companies when state commissions try to overrule the legal-technical nuances of a complicated insurance claim
• Banks when customers file misleading complaints for wrongfully granted loans
• Hospital when medical negligence cases are decided without the opinion of a Medical Board.
• Customers when their legitimate claims are outright dismissed by state commissions or are granted half compensation

Did you know that there is a mandatory pre-condition that you must fulfill before filing an appeal with the NCDRC? Yes. You have read that right. While filing an appeal against SCDRC order you must deposit 50% of the ordered amount with the NCDRC. There is no way around that law and NCDRC cannot waive the condition either.

Appellate Admission Mechanisms

1. Appeals admit by-passing Section 151 CPC Unless rejected out of hand for being wholly devoid of merits or encouraged by unfair trade practices of the opposite party – catching consumer’s unwary off guard then appeals are generally admitted by taking judicial notice of the following:-

2. Timely Filing of Appeal from the Date of SCDRC Order. A delayed appeal, filing after 30 days from order needs:

1. Filing of Condonation Application supported by affidavit requesting admission of appeal along with reason to justify the delay.
2. Evidence to support the reason for delay (like from a medical doctor).

1. Obtaining Order and Determination of Limitation: The SCDRC Appeal begins from the date when the order is pronounced by the State Commission. So move court for obtaining a certified copy of order immediately as limitation i.e. 30 days starts from date of receipt of the copy.

2. Deposit of 50% Statutory Pre-Deposit: Amount of Pre Deposit should be arranged before preparing the appeal pleading. Appellant is required to make a pre deposit of 50% of the ordered amount by way of Demand Draft or court specific deposit methods. This receipt should be attached with the appeal memo

3. Preparation of Memo of Appeal and Paperbooks: Preparation of appeal should include a detailed memo of appeal with factum of case in chronological order along numbered grounds which specifically point out the legal & factual errors in the reasoning of SCDRC order. All documents/Pleadings along with evidence produced before state commission should be arranged in the form of paperbooks

4. E-filing of Appeal or Physical filing in New Delhi: Appeal should be filed physically at NCDRC Registry in New Delhi or E-filed using e- Daakhil system. Once received, the Registry verifies the paper book for any technical defects like missing document or calculation errors etc which can be cured by Counsel so that matter can be listed for admission.

5. Listing before Bench for Admission: In admission hearing, Counsel should establish a prima facie case for NCDRC to accept the appeal for admission. Once admitted, Notice shall be issued to opposite party and Interim Stay may be granted by NCDRC on the order passed by state commission.

30 Day Rule Must.

T Kirti vs. State Bank of India 1951 56 CTR 380 Delhi High Court

Appeal should be filed within 30 days from receiving order of SCDRC along with 50% of the ordered amount. If delay in filing of appeal is beyond Consumer Forums control then apply for condonation of delay along with reasons for each day of delay. The Reasons should be backed up with solid proof and the same should be verified by Documentary Evidence or Doctor’s Certificate if reason for delay is illness.

Note: - Tribunal has discretionary power to allow an appeal after the expiry of the period of 30 days from the date of receipt of copy of order only if it is satisfied that there was “sufficient cause” for not filing the appeal within that period. As per recent rulings by Hon’ble Apex Court, Strict interpretation is given to the “delay” part. So better to avoid delay.

Challenging An Order Of Small Comp&Enema Through Appeal.com Document Checklist ????

Upload & cross verify the following documents along with your appeal. It is recommended that you cross verify the list of documents that have been uploaded at the time of admission. At times appellants realize the mistake only post-admission.

NCDRC Appeal Documents Required For Filing SCDRC Order Appeal

Below is the list of essential documents required at the time of filing appeal from SCDRC. Ordered: 1. Memo of Appeal, 2. Certified Copy of Order from SC Dir. Mark ('Yes' or 'No') whether document is REQUIRED/NECESSARY at the time of filing Appeal. Scroll ? for further details on each document.

Appeals Before NCDRC: Actionable Mistakes to Avoid by Parties

1. Attempting to retry the case on appeal

Appealing parties often think of an appeal as a second chance to try their case. They inadvertently mention every issue and pray for a re-examination of witnesses or adduce new evidence without the NCDRC’s leave. Remember that the NCDRC does not re-assess facts or hear witnesses afresh unless permitted. It only looks for errors in law, jurisdiction exercised beyond its powers or patently perverse in its appreciation of evidence on record before the SCDRC.

2. Filing incomplete statutory pre-deposit

Registration authorities may dismiss your appeal if you file the petition with an incorrect pre-deposit amount or prayer for exemption. Kindly note that there is no option but to deposit 50%. So unless you are willing to lose precious days of limitation trying to convince the registry staff that you deserve a waiver of this prerequisite, kindly pay the required percentage on time.

3. Framing generic/duplicative grounds of appeal

Appealing parties take the help of a free online generator and file appeals stating, “The State Commission was not justified in law and acted in excess of its jurisdiction/reversed perverse” The NCDRC disfavors such generic grounded appeals. Instead, point out with precision the exact para(s) in the impugned order that you want the NCDRC to review and confine your grounds to that specific issue alone. Craft them as “catchy” as possible within reason.

4. Forgetting to file execution application/stay application at State level

Remember that filing an appeal before the NCDRC will not automatically stay the operation of the SCDRC’s order nisi. Parties sometimes forget to file an application praying for an interim stay of operation of the award from the state commission or district forum itself. Execution authorities at the state level are swift and may issue coercive recovery warrants under section 27 of Consumer Protection Act, 2019 if they notice that the opposite party has filed an appeal but has not made any application for stay of execution.

5. Waiting for the certified copy to be delivered

Be wary of online services that provide blanket coverage to file NCDRC appeals. The forum websites usually upload documents on their portals AFTER they are received by the registry. Many parties monitor the case status online and mistakenly take this upload to be compliant with limitation. Downloading uncertified/non-judicial copies of orders from the websites does not start the limitation clock either. Go to the court and ask your lawyer to retrieve the certified copy post pronouncement itself.

6. Suppressing adverse facts/interim orders/prior proceedings

Some appealing parties have a tendency to suppress prior unfavourable interim orders passed by the state commission during the pendency of the dispute or correspondence/emails exchanged with the opposite party on certain issues. Please note that the NCDRC hates incongruities. If it catches wind of you trying to mislead the forum by withholding material facts, it will have no hesitation in dismissing your appeal out of hand with exemplary costs.

7. Sleeping on an adverse SCDRC order

A common but grave mistake consumers make is to ignore SCDRC orders under the belief that consumer courts are toothless agencies. This assumption is perilously wrong. Consumer forums, under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 have all the enforcement muscle of a civil and criminal court combined. Once an SCDRC order against you becomes final i.e., either you do not appeal it before the NCDRC within 30 days or you decide against complying with it, the complainant can straightaway move Execution Proceedings under Section 71 & Section 72 CrPC.

Under Section 72, the forum can initiate criminal proceedings against you for failing to comply with the order. Any person who fails to comply with any order of the SCDRC can be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year or with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees, or with both. The imprisonment may extend to three years if the failure is continued. In other words, if you are a director in a real estate company or officer in a corporate firm or an individual respondent who does not want to satisfy the consumer decree, you be prepared to get arrested and thrown behind bars.

Not only can you be jailed for contempt, under Section 71, the forums have the power to attach your bank accounts, movable and immovable properties as if the ordered amount was arrears of land revenue. So if you sit back and do nothing about that SCDRC order, one day you will wake up to find your assets frozen, your reputation tarnished and bailiffs breaking down your door. File an appeal along with a good stay application IMMEDIATELY. Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh have handled numerous such NCDRC cases.

When should you hire a (NCDRC Appeal Advocate)?

If your Judgment has been Reserved by the SCDRC and chances are you already need one. Most party representatives wait till they receive an Execution Notice before looking for an appellate lawyer. By that time it’s nearly too late. The NCDRC has only granted a 30-day timeline to appeal against SCDRC orders. You need an lawyer to scrutinize the language of the state commission’s judgment first and speak to you about your chances of success on a national level.

Appeals before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission require a specialized understanding of appellate law and procedure that is very different from District Forum litigation. There are different types of (formatting?) appeals that can be filed before the NCDRC. You want someone who has tried arguments specifically before it. NCDRC matters involve deep dives into multiplex assignments, pan India projects, multiple defendants and principles of extended liability. Advocate BK Singh & Associates has been doing nothing but Appeals since 2018. We’ll make sure your appeal is noticed during your admission hearing.

Why Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh Should File Your NCDRC Appeal?

It hurts to lose a judgment before the state commission and even more so when you believe the other party was at fault. At Advocate BK Singh & Associates our job is to undo that loss. We help parties handle procedural defects, appellate timelines, quantify pre-deposits, and file appeals before the NCDRC. A decent appeal has the potential to overturn those unfavorable SCDRC orders and our lawyers have decades of experience appearing in India’s highest consumer forum.

Having handled appeals for real estate developers and multiplex companies nationwide, we know what appeals catch the attention of the NCDRC benches. Unlike the lower forums, our emphasis at the appellate stage is strictly limited to legal research, challengeable jurisdictional aspects and contradictory findings of law and facts.

Legal Services provided by Advocate BK Singh & Associates:

• Thorough Judgment Analysis- Our job is to analyse every inch of the state commission’s order and find legal angles to contradict their findings.
• Drafting Guaranteed Appeal Memo- We will prepare you custom designed Memo of Appeal, Stay Application and Condonation of Delay if required pleading to the TON of the NCDRC.
• No Worries about Registry Objections-We have cleared numerous sticky registry objections over the years so we know what works at the registry. Also your matter will be assigned ONLY to us and not to any other lawyer. We’ll get you admission without jumping through hoops.
• Harassment Free Courtroom Advocacy- Your matter will be listed before the appropriate NCDRC benches and you can RELY on us to show up, present the appeal and seek admission from the judges. We will also represent you in your Stay Application hearings and subsequent merit hearings.
• Stop Unwanted Execution Attempts- If the opposite party or the state commission try to initiate Execution Proceedings for recovery, we will ensure you do not get harassed during the pendency of your appeal.

Reach out to Advocate BK Singh & Associates & stop those SCDRC orders from being enforced through means of Section 27 of CPA, 2019 and Section 72 of CPC.

Conclusion: Safeguarding Yourself Against Execution

Appealing against an order of the SCDRC isn’t child’s play. Not only do you need to maintain perfection with regard to procedural requirements but you also need to challenge specific findings of law only. Letting an unfavorable state commission order go unchecked will subject your company/personal assets to coercive recovery measures, attachments and arrests under section 27 CPC & Section 72 CPC.

Any mistake at this stage be it framing vague grounds, calculating wrong limitation dates or filing late can cost you your opportunity to appeal at all. Hire competent counsel like Advocate BK Singh & Associates to file your appeal and protect your rights.