KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed the Sindh chief secretary to convene a meeting of departments concerned for establishment of consumer courts in the province and sought a report within two weeks.

When a petition against non-implementation of the Sindh Consumer Protection Act, 2015 came up for hearing before a two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Mohammad Ali Mazhar on Tuesday, the additional secretaries of law and finance departments and other officials turned up and submitted their reports.

After hearing both sides, the bench directed the chief secretary to hold a meeting with the secretaries of law, finance, agriculture departments and other officials concerned to finalise the formalities to set up consumer courts in the province and also sought compliance report along with the minutes of the proposed meeting by Sept 12.

The petitioner Tariq Mansoor Advocate moved the SHC last year and contended that the provincial assembly had passed the law in 2015 to protect and promote the rights of citizens and to redress consumer complaints at the earliest, but despite a lapse of over two years neither consumer courts nor a consumer protection council had been established by the provincial government which the petitioner said itself is a violation of the law and the Constitution.

He further argued that setting up a council as well as courts in every district of the province was mandatory under the law, but the provincial authorities have so far made no efforts in this regard and have been depriving the citizens of their due rights as consumers.

The petitioner pleaded for directions to the Sindh government to establish a provincial consumer protection council and consumer courts in every district of the province and issue the necessary notification and rules for their working.

Published in Dawn, August 29th, 2018