In Brief
H.K. Singla, Secretary of a consumer credit cooperative society, was sentenced to two years' imprisonment for the society's non-compliance with a consumer dispute settlement order. The society had failed to refund deposited funds with interest. The Supreme Court held that while Section 27 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 permits imprisonment for non-compliance, imprisonment cannot be imposed on an individual officer merely by virtue of his office position without a finding of personal liability. The Court suspended the imprisonment order pending clarification by the State Commission on whether personal liability attaches to the appellant individually, while keeping open remedies for the complainant to pursue recovery against the society through its liquidation proceedings."
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