In Brief
The Supreme Court held that consumer complaints filed under the Consumer Protection Act 1986 before the Consumer Protection Act 2019 came into force (20 July 2020) shall continue before the original forums and not be transferred to newly established forums under the 2019 Act, despite enhanced pecuniary jurisdiction limits. While a change of forum is ordinarily procedural and retrospective, the Court found that Section 107 of the 2019 Act read with Section 6 of the General Clauses Act preserves pending proceedings. The absence of express transfer provisions, the 2019 Act's consumer-protection focus, and the hardship that transferring thousands of cases would cause all evidenced legislative intent to keep pending cases before their original forums. The appeals were allowed and the NCDRC's orders dismissing the complaint were set aside.
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