Webinar organized by School of Law

A webinar was organized by School of Law, IMS Unison University, on the theme “Revamped Consumer Protection Law Regime in India: An Analysis of the Consumer Protection Act 2019”. This theme was chosen after much deliberation on the changing dynamics of the relationship between consumer and seller in the present times. The event was envisaged under the acumen of esteemed patrons Prof. Gautam Sinha, Honorable Vice Chancellor, IMS Unison University, Dehradun. The event was organized and executed under the able convenorship of Prof. R.N. Sharma, Dean, School of Law, IMS Unison University. The webinar was registered and attended by 244 participants from different disciples and professions. We were fortunate to have with us, Mr. Aishwarya Anand, as our keynote speaker, who graced the occasion with his insightful views on this nascent topic.  He delved into the much-needed changes which are brought about by the recently enacted Consumer Protection Act, 2019 which has replaced the earlier 1986 Act. With advent of this new Act the old principle of “Caveat Emptor” has been replaced by “Consumer is King”. The new Act provides enhanced protection to the consumers taking into consideration the booming e-commerce industry and the modern methods of providing goods and services such as online sales, tele-shopping, direct selling, and multi-level marketing in addition to the traditional methods. The Central Consumer Protection Authority has been set up under the new law and pecuniary jurisdiction of the district, state and consumer forums has been raised to reflect the present value of transactions taking place between the consumers and retailers. Terms such as product liability, unfair trade practices and misleading advertising will be dealt for the first time under this new law. To make the redressal process less cumbersome and swifter for the citizens new mechanisms such as Alternate Dispute Resolution, E-Filing of Complaints, Appeals & Review, Deemed Admission of Complaints, Consumer Welfare Fund and Liabilities of Celebrities have also been included. The objective of the webinar was not just to educate the people from legal fraternity, but citizens across the country about their rights and the way to enforce them, as they all are consumers at the end of the day. The participants learnt about the new mechanism to file a complaint and seek redressal for any anti-consumer practice.