Kerala govt can go ahead with consumer commission appointments: SC

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has allowed the Kerala government to go ahead with the steps to appoint members of the state consumer commission. The order came from a bench of Justice Dinesh Maheshwari on a petition filed by Renu P Gopalan, a native of Perumbavoor, alleging irregularities in the appointment. The court did not accept the request of the petitioner to stop the appointment.

"Seats in the consumer commission cannot be left vacant. The appointments will be subject to the final judgment of the Supreme Court", the court said.

In the plea, the petitioner pointed out that a lawyer named R Ranjith was appointed as a member by excluding him who was ranked first in the panel prepared by the selection committee. The petitioner approached the Supreme Court through lawyers Zulfikar Ali and Lakshmisree Puthanpurakkal.

The state government also demanded urgent consideration of the matter as a fresh notification was issued on February 2 to elect the members of the consumer commission.

Professionals with 10 years of experience to post of president, members

The Supreme Court has ordered that professionals, including lawyers with ten years of experience, can be considered for the posts of president and members of state consumer commissions and district consumer forums. The bench chaired by Justice M.R. Shah clarified that graduates with expertise in consumer sector, law and public administration can apply.

The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court had quashed the central government's move to raise the minimum qualification for appointment to state consumer commissions to 20 years and to 15 years for appointment to district consumer forums. The Supreme Court has upheld this. Appointment shall be on the basis of written test and viva. The court directed the central and state governments to amend the rules for this.