The government on Wednesday asked consumer redressal courts to initiate "class action" and levy punitive damages on erring companies to safeguard the interest of consumers in an era of open economy.
"There are innumerable examples that could be citied where markets are often manipulated and abused. Class action is needed to uphold consumers rights," Finance Minister P Chidambaram said at the National Conumers Dispute Redressal Commission Foundation Day ceremony.
"The forum should not shy away from levying punitive damages, which will set right predatory practices," he said. Consumers can be empowered through capacity building, broadbasing the knowledge regarding consumer rights and class action, he said, adding "if need arises, then existing provisions can also be amended."
Lauding the consumer dispute redressal mechanism in the country, the finance minister said: "We have a fairly high rate of consumer dispute redressal."
National Consumers Dispute Redressal Commission has been able to dispose off 78 per cent of cases, while state for a have achieved 67 per cent success and district-level forums have a 84.6 per cent success rate.
Admiring the record of consumer redressal forum, he said as the rate of disposal rises, more people would be interested to come forward with complaints.