India Justice Report 2026 Assesses Capacity of Consumer Redressal Commissions

The India Justice Report (IJR) has released the Consumer Justice Report 2026 to assess the capacity and performance of consumer redressal commissions across the country. The report provides a detailed analysis of the functioning, challenges, and effectiveness of consumer dispute resolution bodies in India.According to the report, the growing backlog of cases remains a major challenge for consumer commissions. In several states, a high number of pending cases has led to significant delays in delivering justice. Additionally, shortages of staff, inadequate infrastructure, and limited resources have further impacted the efficiency of these bodies.

About the Report

¨     It is the first of its kind report mainly relied on data from public platforms, websites of redressal commissions, Right to Information (RTI) replies, and Parliament responses collected between 2020 and 2024.

¨ Objective: To comprehensively examine the institutional capacity of India’s consumer dispute redressal commissions at the state and district levels under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

¨     In a first-time assessment, the IJR collated data on 28.57 lakh cases filed between 1st January 2010 and 31st August 2024 at the national, state and district consumer commissions from the CONFONET dashboard (now e-Jagriti).

¨  Provides ranking of the states on 11 indicators across five themes: Budgets, Infrastructure, Human Resources, Workload and Diversity (Gender)

¨     Each indicator was scored on a range of 1 to 10 points, where states with lowest performance received a minimum score of 1 and highest performing states received 10 points.

¨   Highlights the gap between law and implementation, which will be useful for governance reforms, judicial efficiency and consumer protection.

Consumer Protection Act, 2019: Key Features and Structure

¨ The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 was enacted to replace the earlier Consumer Protection Act of 1986, with the aim of strengthening consumer rights and providing a more robust mechanism for grievance redressal in India.

¨     Under the Act, a ‘consumer’ is defined as any person who buys goods or avails services for consideration, but not for resale or any commercial purpose. This definition ensures that the law primarily protects end-users.

¨ One of the major highlights of the Act is the establishment of the Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under Section 10. The CCPA acts as a proactive regulator with powers to investigate violations, order recalls of unsafe goods, and impose penalties on offenders, thereby enhancing consumer protection.

The Act also provides a three-tier quasi-judicial redressal mechanism for resolving consumer disputes:

¨     District Commission: Handles cases involving claims up to ₹1 crore. Complaints can be filed where the consumer resides, works, or where the cause of action arises.

¨     State Commission: Deals with claims between ₹1 crore and ₹10 crore. It also hears appeals against the orders of District Commissions.

¨  National Commission: Handles cases involving claims above ₹10 crore and hears appeals against the orders of State Commissions.

Key Findings of the Report

Pendency of Cases

¨  Between 2020 and 2024, the pendency of cases rose to 21%, accounting for a total of 5.15 lakh cases.

¨     35% of pending cases had remained unresolved for more than three years.

¨     Indicates that new cases are outpacing disposals, leading to backlog accumulation

¨     Delay in Case Disposal

¨  Average disposal time for a case is 600–650 days (2 years) despite the legal mandate of 3–5 months.

Severe Human Resource Shortage

¨  The report highlights that more than 50% of seats for presidents are vacant in State Consumer Dispute Redressal Commissions.

¨     Large vacancy of members and supporting staff, leading to frequent adjournments and reduced hearings.

Representation of Women

¨   Despite a legal mandate under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, the share of women among presidents and members in SCDRCs declined from an average of 35% in 2021 to 29% in 2025.

Weak Use of Mediation (ADR Failure)

¨     Only 134 cases referred to mediation nationwide

¨   Despite legal provisions, ADR mechanisms remain underutilised, increasing the burden on courts.

State Rankings

¨     Andhra Pradesh leads among 19 large/mid-sized states with 93% case clearance (2020-2024), followed by Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Karnataka, and West Bengal.

¨     Telangana was last in the ranking.

Recommended Reforms

¨  Immediate Vacancy Filling: Prioritise appointments via unified recruitment to cut pendency.

¨     Boost ADR/Mediation: Scale Lok Adalats and mediation cells to meet statutory timelines, reducing hearing repeats.​

¨     Infrastructure and Diversity: Mandate compliance with women’s quota, invest in district forums, and leverage RTI/parliamentary oversight for transparency.

¨   Federal Coordination: Central guidelines for state capacity-building, tying budgets to performance metrics for SDG 16 alignment.