No. 4/26.10.2010.

HON’BLE JUSTICE SRI PRABIR KUMAR SAMANTA, PRESIDENT.

Appellant through Mr. P. Banerjee, the Ld. Advocate and Respondent through Mr. Kajal Kr. Das, the Ld. Advocate are present.  The Ld. Advocate for the Respondent files Vokalatnama. 

This appeal has been directed against the order dated 11.05.2010 passed by the District Forum South 24 Pgs. thereby rejecting the complaint by refusing to grant any adjournment of the hearing for admission of the said complaint only on the ground that if such prayer for adjournment is allowed it will extend the statutory period of 21 days as prescribed under second proviso to Sub-section 3 of Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act for such admission.

The Sub-section 3 of Section 12 of the said Act reads as under :

“On receipt of a complaint made under sub-section (1), the District Forum may, by order, allow the complaint to be proceeded with or rejected :

Provided that a complaint shall not be rejected under this section unless an opportunity of being heard has been given to the complainant:

Provided further that the admissibility of the complaint shall ordinarily be decided within twenty-one days from the date on which the complaint was received”.

Upon careful reading of the said second proviso to the said Sub-section we are of the clear view that the period mentioned therein for the purpose of deciding the question as to whether the complaint should be admitted for hearing or not is not in the form of a mandatory direction but in the nature of a directory provision.  If for any sufficient reason the complaint cannot be taken up for consideration for admission within the aforesaid period of 21 days as prescribed therein it shall not necessarily stand as rejected.  The period prescribed therein merely gives an indication for expeditions consideration of the matter for admission and not for the purpose of rejecting the complaint on such ground alone.  We are, therefore, of the view that the impugned order for rejection of the complaint on such ground alone was absolutely illegal.  The same is accordingly set aside.  The complaint is sent back on remand to the concerned Forum for the purpose of expeditious hearing for admission of the same.