Sections 29A and 30 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986: Vacancies and Power to Make Rules
Sections 29A and 30 formed part of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. Section 29A protected proceedings and orders of consumer adjudicatory bodies from becoming invalid merely because of a vacancy among members or a defect in their constitution. Section 30 dealt with rule-making powers of the Central Government and State Governments.
Section 29A of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Vacancies or defects in appointment not to invalidate orders
No act or proceeding of the District Forum, the State Commission or the National Commission shall be invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy amongst its members or any defect in the constitution thereof.
Meaning: Section 29A was a validating provision. A proceeding or order was not to fail merely because a post was vacant or because there was a defect in the constitution of the concerned consumer forum or commission. The provision addressed institutional vacancies or defects; it did not state that every kind of jurisdictional or procedural illegality was automatically cured.
Corresponding provision under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019
Section 64 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 is titled "Vacancies or defects in appointment not to invalidate orders." It provides the same core protection for acts and proceedings of the District Commission, State Commission and National Commission where there is a vacancy among members or a defect in the constitution of the Commission.
The terminology has changed from District Forum under the 1986 Act to District Commission under the 2019 Act.
Section 30 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986
Power to make rules
Historical provision: Section 30 empowered the Central Government and State Governments, by notification, to make rules for specified matters under the 1986 Act.
Central Government: Section 30(1) authorised rules for the matters identified in provisions including Section 2(1)(a), Section 4(2)(b), Section 5(2), Section 12(2), Section 13(4)(vi), Section 14(1)(hb), Section 19, Section 20, Section 22 and Section 23 of the 1986 Act.
State Governments: Section 30(2) authorised rules for specified matters relating, among other provisions, to Sections 7, 8A, 10, 13, 14, 15 and 16 of the 1986 Act.
Rule-making powers under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019
The current Act reorganises rule-making powers. Section 101 empowers the Central Government, by notification, to make rules for carrying out the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 and lists matters for which rules may be prescribed. Section 102 similarly empowers State Governments to make rules, subject to the statutory framework, and also provides for Central Government model rules in matters within State rule-making power.
The 2019 Act separately gives the National Commission power to make regulations under Section 103 and the Central Consumer Protection Authority power to make regulations under Section 104. Section 105 deals with laying specified rules and regulations before Parliament and State rules before the State Legislature.
Repeal of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and savings
Section 107 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 repeals the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. It also contains savings for things done or actions taken under the repealed Act, insofar as they are not inconsistent with the 2019 Act, and preserves the application of Section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 to the effect of repeal.
Accordingly, Sections 29A and 30 of the 1986 Act should now be read as historical provisions, subject to the repeal-and-savings rules. For present-day statutory reference, Section 64 and Sections 101 to 105 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 are the more relevant provisions.
Official consumer protection law resources
For the current Act, commencement notifications, rules, regulations and amendments, refer to the official resources in the sidebar. These should be checked when a matter depends on the version of a rule or regulation in force on a particular date.
Note: This page provides general legal information and a historical-to-current statutory cross-reference. The applicable provision in a particular dispute may depend on the date of the proceeding, the nature of the action and the repeal-and-savings provisions.