11. Procedure on receipt of complaint.

(1) The Divisional Forum shall on receipt of a complaint, if it relates to any goods,—

(a) refer a copy of the complaint to the opposite party mentioned in the complaint directing him to give his version of the case within a period of thirty days or such extended period not exceeding fifteen days as may be granted by the Divisional Forum ;

(b) where the opposite party on receipt of a complaint referred to him under clause (a) denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint, or omits or fails to take any action to represent his case within the time given by the Divisional Forum, the Divisional Forum shall proceed to settle the consumer dispute in the manner specified in clauses (c) to (g) ;

(c) where the complaint alleges a defect in the goods, which cannot be determined without proper analysis or test of the goods, the Divisional Forum shall obtain a sample of the goods from the complaint, seal it and authenticate it in the manner prescribed and refer the sample so sealed to the appropriate laboratory along with a direction that such laboratory make an analysis or test, whichever may be necessary, with a view to finding out whether such goods from any defect alleged in the complaint or suffer from any other defect and to report its findings thereon to the Divisional Forum within a period of forty-five days of the receipt of the reference or within such extended period as may be granted by the Divisional Forum ;

(d) before any sample of the goods is referred to any appropriate laboratory under clause (c) the Divisional Forum may require the complainant to deposit to the credit of the Forum such fees as may be specified, for payment to the appropriate laboratory, for carrying out the necessary analysis or test in relation to the goods in question

(e) the Divisional Forum shall remit the amount deposited to its credit under clause (d) to the appropriate laboratory, to enable it to carry out the analysis or test mentioned in clause (c) and on receipt of the report from the appropriate laboratory, the Divisional Forum shall forward a copy of the report along with such remarks as the Divisional Forum may feel appropriate to the opposite party:

(f) if any of the parties disputes the correctness of the findings of the appropriate laboratory, or disputes the correctness of the methods of analysis or test adopted by the appropriate laboratory, the Divisional Forum shall require the opposite party or the complainant to submit in writing his objections in regard to the report made by the appropriate laboratory;

(g) the Divisional Forum shall thereafter give a reasonable opportunity to the complainant as well as the opposite party of being heard as to the correctness or otherwise of the report made by the appropriate laboratory and also as to the objection made in relation thereto under clause (f) and issue an appropriate order under section 12.

(2) The Divisional Forum shall, if the complaint received by it under section 10 relates to goods in respect of which the procedure specified in sub-section (1) cannot be followed, or if the complaint relates to any services —

(a) refer a copy of such complaint to the opposite party directing him to give his version of the case within a period of thirty days or such extended period not exceeding fifteen days as may be granted by the Divisional Forum ;

(b) where the opposite party on receipt of a copy of the complaint, referred to him under clause (a) denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint or omits or fails to take any action to represent his case within the time given by the Divisional Forum, the Divisional Forum shall proceed to settle the consumer disputes,-

(i) on the basis of evidence brought to its notice by the complainant and the opposite party, where the opposite party denies or disputes the allegations contained in the complaint, or

(ii) on the basis of evidence brought to its notice by the complainant where the opposite party omits or fails to take any action to represent his case within the time given by the Forum.

(3) No proceedings complying with the procedure laid down in sub-sections (1) and (2) shall be called in question in any court on the ground that the principles of natural justice have not been complied with.

(4) For the purposes of this section, the Divisional Forum shall have the same powers as are vested in a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, Samvat 1977 while trying a suit in respect of the following matters, namely :--

(i) the summoning and enforcing the attendance of any defendant or witness and examining the witness on oath ;

(ii) the discovery and production of any document or other material object producible as evidence ;

(iii) the reception of evidence on affidavits ;

(iv) the requisitioning of the report of the concerned analysis or test from the appropriate laboratory or from any other relevant source;

(v) issuing of any commission for the examination of any witness ;and

(vi) any other matter which may be prescribed.

(5) Every proceeding before the Divisional Forum shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228 of the Ranbir Penal Code, and the Divisional Forum shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195 and Chapter XVII of the Code of Criminal Procedure, Samvat 1989.

1[“(6) Where the complaint is a consumer referred in sub-clause (iv) of clause (b) of section 2, the provisions of rule 8 of Order 1 of the First Schedule to the Code of Civil Procedure, Samvat 1977 shall apply subject to the modification that every reference therein to a suit or decree shall be construed as a reference to a complaint or the order of the Divisional forum thereon.”].