1) CONSUMER RIGHTS
Consumer Rights:
Right to safety
Means right to be protected against the marketing of goods and services, which are
hazardous to life and property. The purchased goods and services availed of should not only meet
their immediate needs, but also fulfil long term interests. Before purchasing, consumers should
insist on the quality of the products as well as on the guarantee of the products and services.
They should preferably purchase quality marked products such as ISI,AGMARK, etc
Right to choose
Means right to be assured, wherever possible of access to variety of goods and services at
competitive price. In case of monopolies, it means right to be assured of satisfactory quality and
service at a fair price. It also includes right to basic goods and services. This is because
unrestricted right of the minority to choose can mean a denial for the majority of its fair share.
This right can be better exercised in a competitive market where a variety of goods are available
at competitive prices
Right to be informed
Means right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard and price of
goods so as to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices. Consumer should insist on
getting all the information about the product or service before making a choice or a decision.
This will enable him to act wisely and responsibly and also enable him to desist from falling prey
to high pressure selling techniques.
Right to consumer education
Means the right to acquire the knowledge and skill to be an informed consumer throughout life.
Ignorance of consumers, particularly of rural consumers, is mainly responsible for their
exploitation. They should know their rights and must exercise them. Only then real consumer
protection can be achieved with success.
Right to be heard
Means that consumer's interests will receive due consideration at appropriate forums. It also
includes right to be represented in various forums formed to consider the consumer's welfare.
The Consumers should form non-political and non-commercial consumer organizations which
can be given representation in various committees formed by the Government and other bodies
in matters relating to consumers.
Right to Seek redressal
Means right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous exploitation of
consumers. It also includes right to fair settlement of the genuine grievances of the consumer.
Consumers must make complaint for their genuine grievances.Many a times their complaint may
be of small value but its impact on the society as a whole may be very large. They can also take
the help of consumer organisations in seeking redressal of their grievances.
As the markets are globalizing, the direct link between the manufacturer and the final user
getting distant, post purchase grievances have to be heard through a strong redressal system. For
this, Consumer disputes redressal agencies (popularly known as Consumer Forums or Consumer
Courts) are set up under the Act at District, State and National level to provide simple and
inexpensive quick redressal against consumer complaints. The District forum deals with
complaints where the compensation sought is less than 23 lakhs. This limit is commonly known
as the ‘pecuniary jurisdiction’ of the Consumer Redressal Forum. The State Forum deals with the
complaints where the value of the goods and services and compensation claimed does not exceed
rupees one crore and the National Forum entertains the complaints where the value of the goods
or services and compensation claimed exceeds rupees one crore.
The Consumer Forum can order the company to take the following actions once it hears the
complaint and decides that the company is at fault:
Correct deficiencies in the product to what they claim.
Repair defect free of charges
Replace product with similar or superior product
Issue a full refund of the price
Pay compensation for damages / costs / inconveniences
Withdraw the sale of the product altogether
Discontinue or not repeat any unfair trade practice or the restrictive trade practice
Issue corrective advertisement for any earlier misrepresentation
Consumer Protection Act
“An Act to provide for better protection of the interests of consumers and for that
purpose to make provision for the establishment of consumer councils and other authorities for
the settlement of consumers' disputes and for matters connected therewith.”(According to
Consumer Protection Act, 1986).
Consumer Protection Act, 1986 seeks to promote and protect the interest of consumers against
deficiencies and defects in goods or services. It also seeks to secure the rights of a consumer
against unfair or restrictive trade practices. This act was passed in Lok Sabha on 9th
December,1986 and Rajya Sabha on 10th December, 1986 and assented by the President of India
on 24th December, 1986 and was published in the Gazette of India on 26th December, 1986.
Consumer Responsibilities
The responsibility to be more alert and to question more – about prices, about quantity and
quality of goods bought and services used.
Be Involved
The responsibility to be assertive – to ensure that you get a fair deal as a consumer. Remember, if
you are passive, you are likely to be exploited.
Be Organized
The responsibility to join hands and raise voices as consumers; to fight in a collective and to
develop the strength and influence to promote and protect consumer interest.
Practice Sustainable Consumption
The responsibility to be aware of the impact of your consumption on other citizens, especially
the disadvantaged or powerless groups; and to consume based on needs – not wants.
Be Responsible to the Environment
The responsibility to be aware and to understand the environmental consequences of our
consumption. We should recognize our individual and social responsibility to conserve natural
resources and protect the earth for future generations.
2) Right to Information (RTI)
Right to Information (RTI) is act of the Parliament of India to provide for
setting out the practical regime of the right to information for citizens and replaces the erstwhile
Freedom of information Act, 2002. Under the provisions of the Act, any citizen of India may
request information from a "public authority" (a body of Government or "instrumentality of
State") which is required to reply expeditiously or within thirty days. The Act also requires every
public authority to computerise their records for wide dissemination and to proactively certain
categories of information so that the citizens need minimum recourse to request for information
formally.
It is an act to provide for setting out the practical regime of Right to Information for citizens to
secure information under control of public authorities, in order to promote transparency and
accountability in the working of every public authority, the constitution of a Central Information
Commission and State Information Commissions and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto.
SCOPEOF RTI ACT:
The Act covers the whole of India except Jammu and Kashmir, where
J&K Right to Information Act is in force. It covers all the constitutional authorities, including
executive, legislature and judiciary; any institution or body established or constituted by an act of
Parliament or a state legislature. It is also defined in the Act that bodies or authorities established
or constituted by order or notification of appropriate government including bodies "owned,
controlled or substantially financed" by government, or non-Government organizations
"substantially financed, directly or indirectly by funds".
Private bodies
Private bodies are not within the Act's ambit directly. In a decision of Sarbjit roy vs
Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission, the Central Information Commission also reaffirmed
that privatised public utility companies fall within the purview of RTI.As of 2014, private
institutions and NGOs receiving over 95% of their infrastructure funds from the government
come under the Act.
Political parties
The Central Information Commission (CIC) held that the political parties are public
authorities and are answerable to citizens under the RTI Act. The CIC said that six national
parties - Congress, BJP, NCP, CPI(M), CPI and BSP and BJD - has been substantially funded
indirectly by the Central Government and have the character of public authorities under the RTI
Act as they perform public functions. But in August 2013 the government introduced a Right To
Information (Amendment) Bill which would remove political parties from the scope of the law.
Currently no parties are under the RTI Act and there has a case been filed for bringing all
political parties under it.
Governance and process
The Right to information in India is governed by two major bodies:
Central Information Commission (CIC) – Chief Information commissioner who heads all
the central departments and ministries- with their own public Information officers (PIO)s. CICs
are directly under the President of India.
State Information Commissions – State Public Information Officers or SPIOs head over all the
state department and ministries. The SPIO office is directly under the corresponding State
Governor.
State and Central Information Commissions are independent bodies and Central Information
Commission has no jurisdiction over the State Information Commission.
Fees
A citizen who desires to seek some information from a public authority is required to
send, along with the application (a Postal order or DD (Demand draft) or a bankers cheque)
payable to the Accounts Officer of the public authority as fee prescribed for seeking information.
If the person is from a disadvantaged community, he/she need not pay.[citation needed] The
applicant may also be required to pay further fee towards the cost of providing the information,
details of which shall be intimated to the applicant by the PIO as prescribed by the RTI ACT.
3) CYBER LAW
In Simple way we can say that cyber crime is unlawful acts wherein the
computer is either a tool or a target or both. Cyber crimes can involve criminal activities that are
traditional in nature, such as theft, fraud, forgery, defamation and mischief, all of which are
subject to the Indian Penal Code. The abuse of computers has also given birth to a gamut of new
age crimes that are addressed by the Information Technology Act, 2000.
We can categorize Cyber crimes in two ways
The Computer as a Target :-using a computer to attack other computers.
e.g. Hacking,Virus/Worm attacks,DOS attack etc.
The computer as a weapon :-using a computer to commit real world crimes.
e.g. Cyber Terrorism, IPR violations,Credit card frauds,EFT frauds, Pornography etc.
Cyber law (also referred to as cyberlaw) is a term used to describe the legal issues related to use
of communications technology, particularly "cyberspace", i.e. the Internet. It is less a distinct
field of law in the way that property or contract are as it is an intersection of many legal fields,
including intellectual property, privacy, freedom of expression, and jurisdiction. In essence,
cyber law is an attempt to integrate the challenges presented by human activity on the Internet
with legacy system of laws applicable to the physical world.
Cyber Law in INDIAWhy Cyberlaw in India ?
When Internet was developed, the founding fathers of Internet hardly had any inclination that
Internet could transform itself into an all pervading revolution which could be misused for
criminal activities and which required regulation. Today, there are many disturbing things
happening in cyberspace. Due to the anonymous nature of the Internet, it is possible to engage
into a variety of criminal activities with impunity and people with intelligence, have been grossly
misusing this aspect of the Internet to perpetuate criminal activities in cyberspace. Hence the
need for Cyberlaws in India.
What is the importance of Cyberlaw ?
Cyberlaw is important because it touches almost all aspects of transactions and activities on and
concerning the Internet, the World Wide Web and Cyberspace. Initially it may seem that
Cyberlaws is a very technical field and that it does not have any bearing to most activities in
Cyberspace. But the actual truth is that nothing could be further than the truth. Whether we
realize it or not, every action and every reaction in Cyberspace has some legal and Cyber legal
perspectives.
Does Cyberlaw concern me ?
Yes, Cyberlaw does concern you. As the nature of Internet is changing and this new medium is
being seen as the ultimate medium ever evolved in human history, every activity of yours in
Cyberspace can and will have a Cyberlegal perspective. From the time you register your Domain
Name, to the time you set up your web site, to the time you promote your website, to the time
when you send and receive emails , to the time you conduct electronic commerce transactions on
the said site, at every point of time, there are various Cyberlaw issues involved. You may not be
bothered about these issues today because you may feel that they are very distant from you and
that they do not have an impact on your Cyber activities. But sooner or later, you will have to
tighten your belts and take note of Cyberlaw for your own benefit.
Advantages of Cyber Laws
The IT Act 2000 attempts to change outdated laws and provides ways to deal with
cyber crimes. We need such laws so that people can perform purchase transactions over the Net
through credit cards without fear of misuse. The Act offers the much-needed legal framework so
that information is not denied legal effect, validity or enforceability, solely on the ground that it
is in the form of electronic records.
In view of the growth in transactions and communications carried out through electronic records,
the Act seeks to empower government departments to accept filing, creating and retention of
official documents in the digital format. The Act has also proposed a legal framework for the
authentication and origin of electronic records / communications through digital signature.
From the perspective of e-commerce in India, the IT Act 2000 and its provisions contain many
positive aspects. Firstly, the implications of these provisions for the e-businesses would be that
email would now be a valid and legal form of communication in our country that can be duly
produced and approved in a court of law.
Companies shall now be able to carry out electronic commerce using the legal infrastructure
provided by the Act.
Digital signatures have been given legal validity and sanction in the Act.
The Act throws open the doors for the entry of corporate companies in the business of being
Certifying Authorities for issuing Digital Signatures Certificates.
The Act now allows Government to issue notification on the web thus heralding e-governance.
The Act enables the companies to file any form, application or any other document with any
office, authority, body or agency owned or controlled by the appropriate Government in
electronic form by means of such electronic form as may be prescribed by the appropriate
Government.
The IT Act also addresses the important issues of security, which are so critical to the success of
electronic transactions. The Act has given a legal definition to the concept of secure digital
signatures that would be required to have been passed through a system of a security procedure,
as stipulated by the Government at a later date.
