Nepal’s first consumer court, a specialised court that deals with consumer complaints and grievances, is expected to begin hearing cases in December in Kathmandu, nearly three years after the Supreme Court’s order.

On Sunday, the Judicial Council recommended judge Ram Prasad Sharma of Kathmandu District Court to chair the consumer court.

“Now, the Cabinet will recommend one member, and the Supreme Court will appoint the registrar,” said Jyoti Baniya, chairperson of the Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights Nepal.

Under-secretary Gehendra Raj Regmi has been nominated a member.

The Consumer Court will be set up inside the Department of Drug Administration premises in Babarmahal.

Baniya, one member of the committee formed to implement Nepal’s top court order to form consumer courts, said if things go as planned, the court may start hearing cases from December 1.

The Consumer Protection Act-2018 requires the government to establish a consumer court.

Based on this provision, the Ministry of Industry, Commerce, and Supplies submitted a legislation draft to the law ministry in September 2019, which then forwarded it to the Judicial Council.

As the process was delayed, the Supreme Court, on February 20, 2022, ordered the government to establish consumer courts in all provinces to protect buyers’ interests amid repeated cases of unfair market practices.

A division bench of justices Bam Kumar Shrestha and Nahakul Subedi issued the order after the Forum for Protection of Consumer Rights Nepal moved the court.

Industry ministry officials, however, said setting up a consumer court in a province would be impractical, as people would still have to travel long distances to present their cases.

The ministry then decided to gradually set up consumer courts in each district, after piloting it in Kathmandu.

The process, however, has been delayed due to frequent government changes.

Last fiscal year’s budget announced the formation of a consumer court in Kathmandu on a trial basis and allocated Rs10 million for the purpose.

A consumer court is a specialised court which primarily deals with consumer-related disputes, conflicts, and grievances. The court holds hearings to adjudicate these issues.

The public has long been demanding consumer courts to bring unscrupulous traders under a legal framework within a fast-track system.

Observers say that as consumers do not want to get involved in complex court cases, particularly at the Supreme Court, unscrupulous traders have been emboldened.

They believe that once consumer courts are established, filing complaints will become easier and hassles will be minimised.

The presence of the consumer courts is expected to have a big impact on the control of food adulteration, artificial shortages, and price manipulation. Consumers now face difficulty accessing water, energy, telecoms, and financial services despite paying for them.

Besides, as Nepal’s e-commerce grows, consumer fraud has become more prevalent.

Baniya said that a consumer court would be established at the Department of Drug Administration for a temporary arrangement as the property belongs to the industry ministry.

However, the top court had ordered the setting up of separate infrastructure.

The consumer court will begin hearing cases from Kathmandu, Lalitpur and Bhaktapur. Baniya said the court would gradually be established in other districts.

However, the respective district courts will handle consumer complaints until the time consumer courts are established in other provinces.

The local governments have also started acting against market malpractices.

On October 8, Birendranagar Municipality in Surkhet fined Surkhet Frozen MoMo Food House Rs50,000 for cheating consumers.

Due to budget constraints, a consumer court has been established only inside the Valley. However, the Supreme Court has also ordered that consumer courts also be established outside the Valley.

Access to and availability of dispute resolution and redress mechanisms are a basic need of consumers, as recognised by the United Nations Guidelines for Consumer Protection.

Baniya said the consumer courts would also ensure fast, faceless, paperless, and right compensation for the victims in consumer cases.

“Once the consumer court comes into operation, the consumer with the bill of goods and services can file a case in the dedicated court,” said Baniya. “The consumer will not have to wait for a hearing date as the process will move swiftly.”

He said a similar case might take 2–3 years or more in regular courts.

Consumer-related cases have been growing, especially in a state of political instability. The number of cases has risen since Nepal adopted digitisation, particularly in e-commerce.

In the last fiscal year, the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control filed 178 cases in the District Administration Office, a quasi-judicial authority.

Out of 178 cases, 45 concerned processed drinking water, 29 were related to food items and lentils, 22 to sweet items and confectionery, 18 to oil and ghee, 16 to milk and dairy items, and nine to spices.

In the review period, the department seized and destroyed edible goods worth Rs11.64 million as the products were found to have expired and were without proper labels.

The destroyed products included food items, beer, dalmoth, chips, meat spices, cheese balls, refined flour, suji, juice, pickles, light beverage drinks, and edible oil, and other edible products.

In the last fiscal year, the department filed a case against Dugar Spices and Food Products, Budiganga, in Morang District Court for producing low-quality spices, and against Bhat-Bhateni Food Products, Kathmandu, in Kathmandu District Court for producing low-quality lentils.

The department filed a case against Dabur Nepal, Bara, in Kathmandu District Court for producing adulterated honey and against CG Oil and Derivatives, Birgunj, in Makwanpur District Court for producing low-quality edible oil.

Likewise, a case was lodged against Varun Beverage, Ramgram, in Nawalparasi District Court for adulterated drink. The District Court, Kaski, filed a case against Pokhara Noodles for selling low-quality noodles. CG Foods, Devchuli, was also dragged into Nawalpur District Court for low-quality ready-made noodles.

Besides these cases, police say thousands of cases on cyber and e-commerce frauds are filed every year.