THE SECRETARY, THIRUMURUGAN CO-OPERATIVE AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCIETYversusM. LALITHA (DEAD) THROUGH LRS. AND ORS.

      THE SECRETARY, THIRUMURUGAN CO-OPERATIVE                        A
             AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCIETY
                           v.
        M. LALITHA (DEAD) THROUGH LRS. AND ORS.

                       DECEMBER 11, 2003                              B
     {SHIVARAJ V. PATIL AND D.M. DHARMADHIKARI, JJ.]

       Consumer Protection Act, 1986-Section 3-Tam;/ Nadu Coopera-
 tive Societies Act, 1983-Sections 90 & 156-Jurisdiction of Consumer C
Forums to entertain disputes between cooperative society and its members
under the former Act-Availability of-Held, the former Act provides
additional remedy for resolving of disputes-Provisions of the former Act
should be interpreted broadly, positively and purposefully-Sodone, such
jurisdiction available to consumer forums.
                                                                      D
      Respondent-members of the appellant-society obtained loans from
the appellant by pledging paddy bags. The appellant issued notices to
the respondents demanding repayment of loan amount with interest.
The respondents filed petitions before District Consumer Disputes
Redressal Forum seeking direction to the appellant to release the E
paddy bags pledged on repayment of the loan amount or to pay t'1e
market value of the paddy bags with interest thereon from the date
of pledging till the date of release and to pay compensation for mental
agony and suffering. The appellant contended before the District
Forum that it has no jurisdiction under the Consumer Projection Act, F
1986 (1986 Act) to entertain the complaints of the respondents in view
of Section 90 of the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Societies Act, 1983 (Tamil
Nadu Act). The District forum rejected the contention of the appellants
and held in favour of the respondents. The District Forum, however,
did not grant interest claimed by the respondents. The appellants filed G
appeal before State Commission. The respondents also filed appeals in
regard to payment of interest. The State Commission, by a common
order, allowed the appeals of the appellant and dismissed the appeals
of the respondents. The revision petitions preferred by the respondents
before the National Commission was allowed.                             H
                                 659
    660               SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A         In appeal, the appellant-Society contended that the provisions of
    the Tamil Nadu Act· impliedly oust the jurisdiction of all courts and
    Tribunals including the Consumer Forums; that the Tamil Nadu Act
    is a special enactment dealing with such disputes and has specific
    provisions for appeal, revision and review; and that there would be
B   likelihood of conflicting decisions if the same disputes are entertained
    by different forums. The appellant alternatively submitted that in case
    the contentions are not'accepted, the matter may be remanded to the
    State Commission to adjudicate the issues other than the maintainability
    raised before it.

C       · The respondent-members contended that Section 3 of the 1986
    Act clearly specifics that the remedy under the 1986 Act is in addition
    to and not in derogation of the other remedies available; and that
    Section 156 of the Tamil Nadu Act only bars the jurisdiction of civil
    courts in respect to certain matters and not the jurisdiction of the
D   Consumer Forums.

       Dismissing the appeal and remanding the matter to the State
    Commission, the Court

          HELD : 1.1. Under Section 3 of the Consumer Protection Act,
E 1986, the provisions shall be in addition to and not in derogation to
    any other provisions of any other law for the time being in force.
    Having due regard to the scheme of the 1986 Act and purpose sougU
    to be achieved to protect the interest of the consumers better, the
    provisions are to be interpreted broadly, positively and purposefully
F   in the context of the present case to give meaning to. additional/
    extended jurisdiction unless there is a clear bar. (667-H; 668-A-B)

         Lucknow Development Authority v. MS. Gupta, (1994) 1 SCC 243;
    Fair Air Engineers Pvt. Ltd. & Anr. v. NK. Modi, (1996) 6 SCC 385;
    Spring Meadows Hospital & Anr. v. Harjo[ Ahluwalia thro' K.S. Ahluwalia
G   & Anr., (1998) 4 sec 39 and State ofKarnataka v. Vishwabharathi House
    Building Coop. Society & Ors., (2003) 2 SCC 412, relied on.

        Dhulabhai & Ors. v. The State of Madhya Pradesh & Anr., (1968)
    3 SCR 662 and Chairman, Thiruvalluvar Transport Corporation v.
H   Consumer Protection Council, (1995) 2 SC 479, distinguished.
    SECY. THIRUMURUGAN CO-OPER. AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCY. v. M. LAUTHA 661

      1.2. The remedies that are available to an aggrieved party under A
the 1986 Act are wider. In addition to granting a specific relief, the
forums under the 1986 Act have jurisdiction to award compensation for
the mental agony, suffering etc. which possibly could not be given under
the Tamil Nadu Act. Merely because the rights and liabilities are created
between the members and the management of the society under the B
Tamil Nadu Act and forums are provided, it cannottake away or exclude
the jurisdiction conferred on the forums under the 1986 Act conferred
on the forums expressly and intentionally to serve a definite cause in
terms of the objects and reasons of the 1986 Act. (672-F-G]

      1.3. The question of conflict of decisions way not arise. If the parties C
approach both the forums created under the Tamil Nadu Act and the
1986 Act, it is for the forum under the 1986 Act to leave the parties either
to proceed or avail of the remedies before the other forum depending on
the facts and circumstances of the case. (673-A-B]
                                                                             D
     1.4. The National Commission was right in holding that the view
taken by the State Commission that the provisions under the Tamil
Nadu Act relating to reference of disputes to arbitration shall prevail
over the provisions of the 1986 Act is incorrect and untenable. The
alternate submission made· by the appellant for remanding the case to E
the State Commission for deciding the other issues on merits is
accepted while affirming that the complaints before the District
Forum made by the respondents were maintainable and the District
Forum had jurisdiction to deal with the disputes. [673-C-EI

     CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 92 of 1998.             F
     From the Judgment and Order dated 30.5.97 of the National Con-
sumer Disputes Redressal Commission at New Delhi in R.P. No. 358 of
1996.

     K.V. Vishwanathan, K.V. Venkataraman, Ajit Mohan Singh, Atul K. G
Sinha and B. Faghunath for the Appellant.

     T.L.V. Iyer (AC), Abbay Kumar and S.N. Jha for the Respondents.

     The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
                                                                             H
    662                SUPREME COURT REPORTS {2003] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A        SHIVARAJ V. PATIL, J.: The respondents, being the members of
   the appellant-society, had pledged paddy bags for obtaining loan. The
   appellant-society issued notices to the respondents demanding payment of
   loan amount with interest thereon. The respondents filed petitions in the
   District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Thiruchirapally seeking
B .direction to the appellant to release the paddy bags pledged on receipt of
   the loan amount or in the alternative to direct the appellant to pay the
   market value of the paddy bags with interest thereon from the date of
   pledging till the date of release and also to pass an order for compensation
   for mental agony and suffering, The appellant contested the claims of the
C respondents before the District Forum raising a preliminary objection that
   Consumer Forum had no jurisdiction to decide the dispute between
   members ·and cooperative society in view of Section 90 of the Tamil Nadu
   Cooperative Societies Act, 1983 (for short 'the Act'). The District Forum,
   in the light of the pleadings of the parties, raised the following points for
   determination:-
D
             "(1) Whether the complainants are consumers and whether there
                  is any consumer disputes within the meaning of the Con-
                  sumer Protection Act and whether this Forum has no juris-
                  diction to entertain the complaints of this nature and decide
                  the issue?
E
             (2)   Whether there .is any deficiency in service and negligence
                   on the part of the opposite party in all the complaints?

             (3)    Whether the complainants in all the complaints are entitled
F                  to the reliefs prayed for?"

          The District Forum answered the points I and 2 in favour of the
    respondents and granted relief.

           The appellant took up the matters in appeal before the State
G Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission.         The respondents also filed
    appeal to the extent they were aggrieved in regard to payment of interest
    from 14.9.1992. The State Commission, by the common order, allowed
    the appeals filed by the appellant and dismissed the appeals filed by the
    respondents. The State Commission held that complaints filed by the
H   respondents were themselves not maintainable having regard to Section 90
SECY. THIRUMURUGAN CO·OPER. AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCY. v. M. LALITHA (PATIL. J.)   663

of the Act. Hence, the State Commission did not deal with the other A
contentions.

       Aggrieved by the order of the State Commission, the respondents
approached the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission by
filing revision petition. The National Commission, after hearing the B
learned counsel for the parties and dealing with the contentions advanced
by them, found fault with the order of the State Commission. Conse-
quently, the revision petition was allowed. The order of the State
Commission was set aside restoring the order passed by the District Forum.
Hence, this appeal.
                                                                                        c
        The learned counsel for the appellant urged that (l) Section 90 of
the Act impliedly ousts the jurisdiction of all courts and tribunals including
that of a civil court under Section 9 CPC and the Consumer Forum created
under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (for short 'the 1986 Act') from
adjudicating upon the issues falling within the scope of said Section; on D
the facts of the present case, the dispute is covered by the said Section.
For this purpose, he relied on Section 156 of the Act; (2) the Act being
a special enactment and when specific proyisions are made exclusively to
deal with the disputes between a cooperative society and its members, the
disputes raised before District Forum by the respondents were not main- E
tainable; (3) The Act read with the Rules creates special rights and
liabilities for the members and the management and lays down that all
questions about the said rights and liabilities are to be determined by the
Registrar and that has the provisions for appeal, revision and review.
Hence the case in any event is covered by the proposition (2) set out at
page 682 in Dhulabhai and Others v. The State of Madhya Pradesh and F
Another, (1968] 3 SCR 662; and (4) If the argument of the respondents
is accepted a situation may arise where one party may approach a forum
under the 1986 Act and the other under the Act, or the same party may
approach two forums one after the other or simultaneously. In such a
situation there is likelihood of conflict of decisions, which should be G
avoided. He drew our attention to certain provisions of the Act and the
 1986 Act. He cited few decisions in support of his submissions. He
alternatively submitted that in case his contentions are not accepted, the
 State Commission having not decided other contentions on merit in the
appeal filed by the appellant, the matter may be remanded to the State H
    664                 SUPREME COURT REPORTS (2003] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.
A Commission to ~djudicate the issue~ other than the .issue of maintainability.
              In opposition, the learned senior counsel, who assisted the Court at
      our request in the absence of any representation despite service of notice
      on the respondents, supported the impugned order, contending that Section
      3 of the 1986 Act clearly shows that the remedy available under the 1986
B Act is in addition to and not in derogation of the other remedies available;
      having regard to the Statement of Objects and Reasons and the purpose
      sought to be se~ed by the 1986 Act, it cannot be said that District Forum
      had no jurisdiction to decide the disputes. He submitted that even under
      Section 156 of the Act, the jurisdiction of the District Forum is not barred;
C if at all, it is only the jurisdiction of the civil court in respect of certain
      matters is barred. He added that a consumer may include a member of
   . cooperative society; reliefs that can be granted under the 1986 Act are
 , .· vvider beside being speedy. He also drew our attention to certain provisions
      of both the Acts and placed reliance on .few decisions in support of his
D submissions.
          We have carefully considered the submissions made on either side.
    The provisions of the Act to the extent they are relevant are:

              "Section 90. Disputes- ( l) Ifany dispute touching the constitution
              of the board or the management or the business of a registered
E
              society (other than a dispute regarding disciplinary action taken
              by the competent authority constituted under sub_.section (3) of
              Section 75 or the Registrar or the Society or its board against a
              paid servant of the society)' arises -

F             (a) among members, past members and persons claiming through
              members, past members and deceased membe~s, _or

              {b) between a member, past member or person claiming through
              a member, pa.St member or deceased member and.the society, its
              board or any officer, agent or servant of the society, or
G
              (c) between the society or its board and any past board, any
              officer, agent or servant, or any past officer, past agent or past
              servant, or the nominee, heirs or legal representatives of any
              deceased officer, deceased agent, or deceased servant of the
H             society, or
SECY. THIRUMURUGAN CO-OPER. AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCY. v. M. LALITHA [PATIL, J.)   66 5
          (d) between the society and any other registered society, such A
          disputes shall be rendered to the Registrar for decision.

          Explanation.- For the purpose of this section, a dispute shall
          include -

          (i)    a claim by a registered society for any debt or demand due B
                 to it from a member, past member or the nominee, heir or
                 legal representative of the deceased member whether such
                 debt or demand be admitted or not.

          (ii)   A claim by a registered society against a member, past C
                 member or the nominee, heir or legal representative of a
                 deceased member for the delivery of possession to the
                 society of land or other immovable property resumed by it
                 for breach of the conditions of assignment 'b1-"' allotment of
                 such land or other immovable property, and                     D
          (iii) a decision by the board under sub-section (3) of Section 34:

          Provided that no dispute relating to, or in connection with, any
          election shall be referred under this sub-section till the date of the
          declaration of the result of such election."                           E
          Section 156. "Bar ofjurisdiction ofcivil courts - Notwithstanding
          anything contained in any other law for the time being in force
          no order or award passed, decision or action taken or direction
          issued under this Act by an arbitrator, a liquidator, the Registrar F
          or an officer authorized or empowered by him, the Tribunal or the
          Government or any officer subordinate to them, shall be liable to
          be called in question in any court and no injunction shall be
          granted by any court in respect of ar,ything which is done or
          intended to be done by or under this Act."
                                                                                         G
      Section 3 of the 1986 Act reads:-

          "Section 3. Act not in derogation of any other law - The
          provisions of this Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation
          of the provisions of any other law for the time being in force." H
    666                SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.
A         Before proceeding further, it is useful to know the background, the
    objects and reasons and purpose for which the 1986 Act is enacted.
    Consequent upon Industrial Revolution and vast development and expan-
    sion in the field of international trade and commerce, variety of consumer
    goods entered the market to meet the needs of the consumers and most
B   of services like insurance, transport, electricity, housing, entertainment,
    finance and banking have been made available to the consumers. Well-
    organized sectors of manufacturers and traders with better energy and
    markets have emerged affecting relationship between the traders and
    consumers. With the help and aid of media both electronic and print, the
    advertisements of goods and services in television, newspapers and
C   magazines have created great impact and influence on the demand for the
    same by the consumers though there may be manufacturing defects or
    deficiencit?~ or short-comings in the quality, quantity and the purity of the
                 1
    goods or the.re may be deficiency in the services rendered. In the interest
    of the public and to protect the consumers, it became necessary to check
D   adulterated and substandard articles in the market. Despite various other
    statutes such as Indian Contract Act, 1972, Sale of Goods Act, 1930, the
    Indian Penal Code, 1960, The Standard of Weights and Measures Act, 1976
    and the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 etc. being in operation, very little could
    be achieved in the field of consumer protection. Though the MRTP Act
E   1969 and the Prevention of Adulteration Act, t 95_4 provide relief to the
    consumers yet it became necessary to protect the consumers from the
    exploitation and to save them from adulterated and substandard goods and
    deficiency in services and to safeguard their interest.

          In General Assembly a Consumer Protection Resolution No. 39/248
F   was passed and India is a signatory to this Resolution. The United Nations
    had passed a resolution in 1985 indicating certain guidelines under which
    the governments could make laws for better protection of the interest of
    the consumers and such laws were more necessary in developing countries
    to protect the consumer from hazardous to their health and safety and to
G   make them available speedier and cheaper redress. With this background,
    the 1986 Act was enacted. The Statement of objects and reasons show that
    the Consumer Protection Bill 1986 sought to provide for better protection
    of the interest of the consumers and for the purpose, to make provision for
    the establishment of consumer council and other authorities in the settle-
H   ment of consumer disputes and for matters connected therewith. It seeks,
SECY. THIRUMURUGAN CO-OPER. AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCY. •· M. LALITHA [PATIL, J.)   66 7
interalia, to promote and protect the rights of consumers such as protection A
against marketing of goods which are hazardous to life and property; the
right to be informed about the quality, quantity, potency, purity, standard
and price of goods to protect the consumer against unfair trade practices;
the right to be assured, wherever possible, access to an authority of goods
at competitive prices; the right to be heard and to be assured that the interest B
of consumers will receive due consideration at appr-opriate forums; the
right to seek redressal against unfair trade practices or unscrupulous
exploitation of consumers and right to consumer education. The object is
also to provide speedy and simple redressal to consumer disputes, a quasi
judicial machinery is sought to be set up at the district, State and Central
levels. These Quasi Judicial bodies will observe principles ofnaturaljustice C
and have been empowered to give relief of specific nature and to award,
wherever appropriate, compensation to consumers. Penalties for non-
compliance of orders given by Quasi Judicial bodies have also been
provided.
                                                                                         D
        The preamble of the Act declares that it is an Act to provide for
better protection of the interest 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 matters connected therewith.
In Section 3 of the Act in clear and unambiguous tenns it is stated that E
the provisions of 1986 Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation
of the provisions of the any other law for the time being in force.

      From the statement of objects and reasons and the scheme of 1986
Act, it is apparent that the main objective of the Act is to provide for better
protection of the interest of the consumer and for that purpose to provide F
for better redressal, mechanism through which cheaper, easier, expeditious
and effective redressal is made available to consumers. To serve the
purpose of the Act, various quasi judicial forums are set up at the district,
State and National level with wide range of powers vested in them. These
quasi judicial forums, observing the principles of natural justice, are G
empowered to give relief of a specific nature and to award, wherever
appropriate, compensation to the consumers and to impose penalties for
non-compliance of.their orders.

      As per Section 3 of the Act, as already stated above, the provisions H
    668                SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003) SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A of -the Act shall be in addition to and not in derogation to any other
    provisions of any other law for the time being in force. Having due regard
    to the scheme of the Act and purpose sought to be achieved to protect the
    interest of the consumers, better the provisions are to be interpreted
    broadly, positively and purposefully in the context of the present case to
B   give meaning to additional/extended jurisdiction, particularly when Section
    3 seeks to provide remedy under the Act in addition to other remedies
    provided under other Acts unless there is clear bar.

           The view we are taking is supported by the earlier decisions of this
    Court. In Lucknow Development Authority v. MK. Gupta, [1994) I SCC
C   243, this Court observed, thus: -

             "We therefore come straight away to the legal issue involved in
             these appeals. But before doing so and examining the question of
             jurisdiction of the District Forum or State or National Commission
D            to entertain a complaint under the Act, it appears appropriate to
             ascertain the purpose of the Act, the objective it seeks to achieve
             and the nature of social purpose it seeks to promote as it shall
             facilitate in comprehending the issue involved and assist in
             construing various provisions of the Act effectively. To begin
             with the preamble of the Act, which can afford useful assistance
E            to ascertain the legislative intention, it was enacted, 'to provide
             for the protection of the interest of consumers'. Use of the word
             'protection' furnishes key to the minds of makers of the Act.
             Various definitions and provisions which elaborately attempt to
             achieve this objective have to be construed in this light without     I
                                                                                   ~
F            departing from the settled view that a preamble cannot control
             other.vise plain meaning of a provision. In fact the law meets long
             felt necessity of protecting the common man from such wrongs
             for which the remedy under ordinary law for various reasons has
             become illusory. Various legislations and regulations pennitting
G            the State to intervene and protect interest of the consumers have
             become a haven for unscrupulous ones as the enforcement
             machinery either does not move or it moves ineffectively, inef-
             ficiently and for reasons which are not necessary to be stated. The
             importance of the Act lies in promoting welfare of the society by
             enabling the consum~r to participate directly in the market
H
SECY. THIRUMURUGAN CO-OPER. AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCY. '" M. LALITHA (PATIL, J.)   669

          economy. It attempts to remove the helplessness of a consumer A
          which he faces against powerful, business, described as, 'a
          network ofrackets' or a society in which, 'producers have secured
          power' to 'rob the rest' and the might of public bodies which are
          degenerating into storehouses of inaction where papers do not
          move from one desk to another as a matter of duty and respon- B
          sibility but for extraneous consideration leaving the common man
          helpless, bewildered and shocked. The malady is becoming so
          rampant, widespread and deep that the society instead of bother-
          ing, complaining and fighting against it, is accepting it as part of
          life. The enactment in these unbelievable yet harsh realities C
          appears to be a silver lining, which may in course of time succeed
          in checking the rot."

      In Fair Air Engineers Pvt. Ltd. And Another v. N.K. Modi, [1996] 6
SCC 385, this Court, after referring to Lucknow Development Authority
case (supra), held that the provisions of the Act are to be construed widely D
to give effect to the object and purpose of the Act. It went on to say that
"It is seen that Section 3 envisages that the provisions of the Act are in
addition to and are not in derogation of any other law in force. It is true,
as rightly contended by Shri Suri, that the words "in derogation of the
provisions of any other law for the time being in force" would be given E
prop~r meaning and effect and ifthe complaint is not stayed and the parties
are not relegated to the arbitration, the Act purports to operate in derogation
of the provisions of the Arbitration Act. Primafacie, the contention appears
to be plausible but on construction and conspectus 0f the provisions of the
Act we think that the contention is not well founded. Parliament is aware
of the provisions of the Arbitration Act and the Contract Act, 1872 and F
the consequential remedy available under Section 9 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, i.e., to avail of right of civil action in a competent court of civil
jurisdiction. Nonetheless, the Act provides the additional remedy." Fur-
ther, dealing with the jurisdiction of the forums under the 1986 Act in
paragraph 16 this Court has stated, thus: -                                      G
          "16. It would, therefore, be clear that the legislature intended to
          provide a remedy in addition to the consentient arbitration which
           c0uld be enforced under the Arbitration Act or the civil action in
           a suit under the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure. H
    670                SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A            Thereby, as seen, Section 34 of the Act does not confer an
             automatic right nor create an automatic embargo on the exercise
             of the power by the judicial authority under the Act. It is a matter
             of discretion. Considered from this perspective, we hold that
             though the District Forum, State Commission and National
B            Commission are judicial authorities.for the purpose ofSection 34
             of the Arbitration Act, in view of the object of the Act and by
             operation of Section 3 thereof, we are of the considered view that
             it would be appropriate that these forums created under the Act
             are at liberty to proceed with the matters in accordance with the
             provisions of the .Act rather than relegativg the parties to an
c            arbitration proceedings pursuant to a contract entered into
             between the parties. The reason is that the Act intends to relieve
             the consumers ofthe cumbersome arbitration proceedings or civil
             action unless the forums on their own and on the peculiar facts
             and circumstances of a particular case, come to the conclusion
D            that the appropriate forum for adjudication of the disputes would
             be otherwise those given in the Act. "
                                                           (emphasis supplied)

E        Again in Spring Meadows Hospital and Another v. Harjol Ahluwalia
    through K.S. Ahluwalia and Another, [1998] 4 SCC 39, this Court, having
    taken note of the background in which the 1986 Act came to be placed
    on the statute book, observed that the Act creates a framework for speedy
    disposal of consumer disputes and an attempt has been made to remove
    the existing evils of the ordinary court system. The Act being a beneficial
F   Legislation should receive a liberal construction.

        A Bench of three learned Judges of this Court in a recent decision
  in State ofKarnataka v. Vishwabharathi House Building Coop. Society and
  Others, [2003] 2 SCC 412, expressed the view that the 1986 Act was
G brought into force in view of the long-felt necessity of protecting the
  common man from wrongs wherefor the ordinary law for all intent and
  purport had become illusory and that in terms of the said Act, a consumer
  is entitled to participate in the proceedings directly rur a result whereof his
  helplessness against a powerful business house may be taken care of.
H Referring to the Fair Air Engineers (P) Ltd. Case (aforementioned) the
SECY. THIRUMURUGAN CO-OPER. AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCY. v. M. LALITHA [PATIL, l.)   67 J
Court stated that the provisions of the said Act are required to be interpreted A
as broadly as possible. On the question of jurisdiction it is stated that the
forums under the Act have jurisdiction to entertain a complaint despite the
fact that other forums/courts would also have jurisdiction to adjudicate
upon the !is. It is also noticed that the Act provides for a further safeguard
to the effect that in the event a complaint involves complicated issues B
requiring recording of evidence of experts, the complainant would be at
liberty to approach the civil court for appropriate relief.

      The learned counsel for the appellant strongly relied on the decision
of this Court in Chairman, Thiruvalluvar Transport Corporation v.
Consumer Protection Council, (1995) 2 SCC 479. A deeper look at the C
facts of that case and question considered there in make it clear that it
governs the fact of that case having regard to the specific provisions
contained in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. In brief the facts of the case
are that a person was traveling in an omni bus, the driver of the bus tried
to overtake a bullock-cart due to which the bullocks got panicky where- D
upon the driver swerved the bus to the left and applied brakes. In this
situation the person, who was sitting in the rear seat, was thrown in the
front and hit against the iron bar sustaining a serious head injury and
subsequently succumbed to the injury. The legal representatives of the
deceased victim did not file claim petition before the Motor Accidents E
Claims Tribunal constituted under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. After
expiry of the period oflimitation for filing claim petition before the Motor
Accidents Claims Tribunal, the LRs of the deceased filed a complaint
claiming Rs. 20 lakhs before the National Commission. As can be seen
 from paragraph 6 of the judgment, the question that arose for consideration
 was whether the National Commission had jurisdiction to entertain the F
claim application and award compensation in respect of an accident
involving the death of a person caused by the use of a motor vehicle.
Taking note of the fact that the Claims Tribunals constituted under the
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 had jurisdiction to entertain claim for compen-
sation which clearly fell within the ambit of Section 165 of the Motor G
Vehicles Act, 1988, held that the 1988 Act can be said to be a special Act
in relation to claims of compensation arising out of the use of a motor
vehicle. It is observed that the accident occurred had nothing to do with
service provided to the deceased, if one reads the provision aiong with the
definition of complaint in Section 2(l)(c) and service in Section 2(l)(o) H
    672                 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2003] SUPP. 6 S.C.R.

A   ofthl' 1986 Act. This Court held that the complaint in that case could not
    be said to be in relation to any service hired or availed b)' the consumer
    pecause the injury sustained by the consumer had nothing to do with the
    service provided or availed by him. That was a case in which it was found
    that the National Commission had no jurisdiction at all. That was not a
B   case of additional remedy available before a forum created under the 1986
    Act. In our view the said decision does hot advance the case of the
    appellant in any way.

           The decision in Dhulabhai case (supra) also does not help the
    appellant. The present case is not one where the question to be considered
C   is as to the exclusion of jurisdiction of civil court in view of the provisions
    of Section 90 read with Section 156 of the Act. Provisions of 1986 Act,
    as already made clear above, apply in addition to the other provisions
    available under other enactments. It follows that the remedies available
    under the 1986 Act for redressal of disputes are in addition to the available
D   remedies under the Act. Under the 1986 Act we have to consider as regards
    the additional jurisdiction conferred on the forums and not their exclusion.
    In Dhulabhai case consideration was whet'.1er the jurisdiction of the civil
    court was excluded. Propositions (1) and (2) indicate that where the statute
    gives a finality to the orders of the special tribunal~ the jurisdiction of civil
E   courts must be held to be excluded if there is adequate remedy to do what
    the civil courts would normally do in a suit. Further, where there is an
    express bar of the jurisdiction of the court, an examination of the scheme
    of the particular Act to find the adequacy or the sufficiency of the remedies
    provided may be relevant but is not decisive to sustain the jurisdiction of
    the civil court. The remedies that are available to an aggrieved party under
F   the 1986 Act are wider. For instance in addition to granting a specific relief
    the forums under the 1986 Act have jurisdiction to award compensation
    for the mental agony, suffering, etc., which possibly could not be given
    under the Act in relation to dispute under Section 90 of the Act. Merely
    because the rights and liabilities are created between the members and the
G   management of the society under the Act and forums are provided, it
    cannot take away or exclude the jurisdiction conferred on the forums under
    the 1986 Act expressly and intentionally to serve a definite cause in terms
    of the 0bjects and reasons of the Act, reference to which is already made
    above. When the decision of Dhulabhai 's case was rendered the provisions
H   similar to 1986 Act providing additional remedies to parties were neither
SECY. THIRUMURUGAN CO-OPER. AGRICULTURAL CREDIT SOCY. "· M. LALITHA [PATIL J.]   673
available nor considered. If the argument of the learned counsel for the A
appellant is accepted it leads to taking away the additional remedies and
forums expressly provided under the 1986 Act, which is not acceptable.

      The question of conflict of decisions may not arise. If the parties
approach both the forums created under the Act and the 1986 Act, as B
indicated in the case of Fair Air Engineers (P) Ltd. (supra), it is for the
forum under the 1986 Act to leave the parties either to proceed or avail
the remedies before the other forums 1 depending on the facts and circum-
stances of the case.

      Thus, having regard to all aspects we are of the view that the National C
Commission was right in holding that the view taken by the State
Commission that the provisions under the Act relating to reference of·
disputes to arbitration shall prevail over the provisions of the 1986 Act is
incorrect and untenable. The National Commission, however, did not take
note of the fact that the State Commission had not decided the other D
contentions raised in the appeals on merits. We are inclined to accept the
alterna!ive S!Jbmission made on behalf of the appellant for remanding the
case tcrthe State Commission for deciding the other issues on merits while
affirming that. the complaints before the district forum made by the
respondents were maintainable and the district forum had jurisdiction to E
deal with the disputes. In this view, while affirming the order of the
National Commis~ion as to the maintainability of the disputes before the
forum under the Act, we remand the appeals to the State Comm: >sion for
their adjudication on other issues on merits without going to the question
of maintainability of the disputes before the forum under the 1986 Act.
                                                                                       F
     Before parting with the case we place on record our appreciation of
the assistance given by Shri T.L.V. Iyer, learned senior counsel.

       The appeal is disposed of in the above terms.

       No costs.                                                                       G

B.S.                                                           Appeal disposed of.