Marking out slow handling of cases in consumer forums, Supreme Court on Thurday stated that consumer disputes resolution commissions cannot be used to rehabilitate retired judges or bureaucrats and added that a pan India evaluation of the performance of these quasi-judicial institutions is required on an urgent basis.
In a case related to the settlement of salaries and other benefits that the members of consumer forums receive in the country, which the court has taken cognizance of on its own five years ago, a bench consisting of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana said that it encountered a worrying news article reporting the plight of consumers who have been waiting for a hearing of their case for over four years.
