O R D E R Sri. Santhosh Kesavanath P., President Opposite party in the original petition filed this petition challenging the maintainability of original petition. According to opposite party a bystander to a patient, who is admitted in the opposite party hospital , is not a consumer as per the provisions of the consumer Protection Act. So the original petition is to be dismissed. Counter petitioner/petitioner in the original petition without any written objection submitted that earlier the original petition was filed before the CDRF Alappuzha and Forum find that CDRF has no territorial jurisdiction. Learned counsel argued that once maintainability was decided and due to lack of territorial jurisdiction petition was dismissed. So, this Forum need not go in to other questions with regard to maintainability. Counsel submitted that bystander is a necessity to a patient. So, services rendered to a patient is to be made available to a bystander and the petitioner is to be -2- treated as a beneficiary to the service. So, according to him the petition is maintainable. Heard both sides. In our view the argument of the learned counsel for the opposite party that since the maintainability is once decide by the Alappuzha Forum this Forum cannot go in to the question of maintainability is not sustainable. Alappuzha Forum had only go into the question of territorial jurisdiction. So, that will not prohibit this Forum to decide whether the dispute in hand is a consumer dispute. S2 (d) defines “Consumer” means any person who (i) buys any goods for consideration and includes any user of such goods. (ii) Hires or availing service for consideration and includes any beneficiary of such services. So it is clear that the term beneficiary is confined to ‘user of such goods’ for consideration paid and confined to beneficiary of such services hired for consideration. In our view a bystander cannot be said to be a consumer or a beneficiary of the service availed by the opposite party. In view of the finding the petitioner is not a consumer. In the result the petition is dismissed as not maintainable. Sri. Santhosh Kesavanath P., President Sd/- Smt. Bindhu M. Thomas, Member Sd/- Sri. K.N. Radhakrishnan, Member Sd/- By Order, Senior Superintendent
| | HONORABLE K.N Radhakrishnan, Member | HONORABLE Santhosh Kesava Nath P, PRESIDENT | , | | 
