Sindh High Court hears petition on formation of consumer courts

KARACHI: A bench of Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday heard a petition seeking formation of consumer courts in Sindh, ARY News reported.

Petitioner Imran Shahzad pleaded to the court for an order for establishment of consumer courts in the province for protection of the consumers.

The court sought an implementation report from the government about formation of the consumer courts in Sindh.

The bench adjourned the hearing of the case till December 11.

The provincial government in a report submitted in the court in an earlier hearing said that the government in the first phase will constitute consumer protection courts in six divisions of the province.

The government has released an initial fund of Rs. 47 million for the consumer courts, the report further said.

The government has also written to the Registrar high court for appointment of Magistrates for these courts, the report added.

The formation of consumer protection courts in Sindh has been long overdue as the Sindh Consumer Protection Act, which provided for the formation of such courts, was passed by the Sindh Assembly in 2014.

In the absence of these courts, general consumers in Sindh have no legal recourse available to them where they could seek justice in case they are overcharged or exploited in terms of pricing, standard or other aspects of the products they purchased from the market.

The Sindh government had earlier announced that in the first stage, consumer protection courts will be established in Karachi, Hyderabad, Mirpurkhas, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sukkur, and Larkana adding that the finance department has allocated required funds for these six courts.