Institute of Legal and Management Studies

The Supreme Court has framed a uniform pattern of pay and allowances to be given to Presidents and Members of District and State Consumer Commissions across all States and Union Territories.

A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan passed the directions in a suo motu case concerning disparities in salaries and service conditions of Consumer Forum members.

The Court noted that many States had framed their own rules under Section 102 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, after the Central Government notified the Consumer Protection (Salary, Allowances and Conditions of Service of President and Members of the State Commission and District Commission) Model Rules, 2020, which has caused a lot of variance in pay among the states.

“There is a lot of variance when it comes to the pay and allowance admissible to the members of the State Commissions and the Presidents and Members of the District Commissions. As a result, in some States they are receiving bare minimum amount.”

The Court reiterated that the 2019 Act was enacted to ensure better protection of consumer interests and to provide for effective redressal of consumer disputes and vast powers have been conferred on the state and district consumer commissions.

“It is therefore obvious that unless they are paid proper remuneration and allowances they will not discharge their duties effectively. As there is lot of variance in the rules it is a fit case to exercise our jurisdiction under Article 142 for laying down uniform pattern of service conditions in so far as salary and allowances are concerned is required”, the Court held.

Rules 7, 8 and 9 of the Model Rules deal with allowances such as house rent, transport, leave, and medical facilities. The Court also noted that the last pay drawn by retired District Judges and government officers appointed as forum members must be protected.

The Court directed that the Model Rules be followed uniformly by all States and Union Territories with the following modifications till further orders:

1. Members of the State Consumer Commission shall be entitled to pay and all allowances admissible to a District Judge in the super time scale of pay, as prescribed by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission. Consequently, the allowances specified in Rules 7, 8, and 9 will not apply to them.

2. Presidents of the District Commissions shall also receive pay and allowances equal to those of District Judges in the super time scale of pay, based on the Second National Judicial Pay Commission's recommendations. The rules regarding allowances will similarly not apply to them.

3. Members of the District Commissions shall receive pay and allowances as per the selection grade of District Judges, as prescribed by the Second National Judicial Pay Commission. Allowances for these members shall not be governed by Rules 7, 8, 9 and 11 of the Model Rules.

4. The last pay drawn by any President or Member shall be protected if it is higher than the pay prescribed under the Court's directions. In such cases, they will draw their pay minus any applicable pension.

The Court observed that distinctions based on whether members are full-time or part-time, or whether they come from judicial or non-judicial backgrounds, are not contemplated under the 2019 Act. All such individuals shall be considered full-time members for the purpose of pay and allowances.

The Court further held that these directions will be uniformly applicable across all States and Union Territories. However, if any State or Union Territory is currently paying a higher remuneration, the same shall continue to be protected.

The Court fixed the effective date of implementation as July 20, 2020, which is the date when the Model Rules came into force. All arrears payable under these directions must be disbursed within six months from the date of the order.

The Court granted the States and Union Territories the liberty to amend their existing rules under Section 102 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, to bring them in conformity with the Court's directions. The Court listed the matter on September 22, 2025, for reporting compliance by the States.

Case no. – WP(C) No. 1144/2021

Case Title – In Re Pay Allowance of the Members of The UP State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission