Students are Consumers too, Rules Maharashtra State Forum

Moneylife Digital Team 13 November 2018

Consumer Interest

A student is also a consumer and can file complaints against educational institutions if it fails to adhere to the rules and regulations of the University Grants Commission (UGC) or are found to make bogus claims and are involved in malpractices, rules the Maharashtra State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (MSCDRC).

In a recent decision, the bench of Justice AP Bhangale and AK Zade stated, “In view of Section 3 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, every consumer, who seeks service from the service provider may complain of deficiency in service or unfair trade practice, as the case may be, unless there is a clear bar by any law to prohibit the student as ‘consumer’ to lodge a complaint before the consumer fora against the educational institute.”

The case is related with Anjana Ramasubramanian, whose son Aditya was a student of Goregaon-based Oberoi International School. Alleging unfair trade practices by the school, Ms Ramasubramanian filed a case before Mumbai suburban district forum. However, the district forum dismissed her petition by merely making reference to a ruling by the National Commission.

Expressing displeasure over the district forum, the bench said, “(the) District Forum in such cases, if it entertain, try and decide the complaint, can surely address itself to the questions as to whether deficiency in service has occurred and or unfair trade practice or restrictive trade practice, as the case may be, to decide the complaint within the scope and legal provisions of the Consumer Protection Act.”

“We must express our dissatisfaction for the cryptic way of disposing of the complaint by the District Forum and set aside the impugned judgment and remand the matter to the District Forum with direction to the District Forum to give full opportunity to both parties to have their pleadings on record with affidavit in evidence and to,” it added.

The district forum, based on previous judgements by the National Commission dismissed the case stating that a student is not a consumer and used the “SK Chaudhari Educational Trust V/s. Pradip Kumar Chapparwala” case as an example to show that educational institutions are not service providers and hence cannot be tried in this court.

Ms Ramasubramanian however argued that in a variety of cases, the National Commission had themselves passed judgements where redressal had been provided to the students.

When the case was taken up with the State Commission, she pointed out that although examinations are not considered as a service, in the absence of any legal binding, students should be considered as consumers unless specifically stated otherwise by law.

The bench observed that in case any institute is found taking an action which is in contravention with the rules laid down by the UGC, said action shall be considered as unfair trade practices and by extension the people affected by that shall be considered as consumers and shall be redressed accordingly.

The bench remanded the case back to the Mumbai Suburban Consumer District Forum.

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