MANU/SC/0038/2012
True Court CopyTM English
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
Civil Appeal No. 7543 of 2004, with Civil Appeal No. 622 of 2012 (Arising out of SLP (C) No. 32750 of 2009), Civil Appeal No. 623 of 2012 (Arising out of SLP (C) No. 35350 of 2009), Civil Appeal No. 7542 of 2004, Civil Appeal No. 3499 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 3498 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 3596 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 3598 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4509 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4510 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4511 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4512 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4513 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4514 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4515 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4516 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4517 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4518 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4519 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4520 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4521 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4522 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4962 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4798 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4964 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4957 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4955 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4954 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4963 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4824 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4959 of 2009, Civil Appeal No. 4967 of 2009 and Civil Appeal No. 4704 of 2009
Decided On: 16.01.2012
Appellants: National Seeds Corporation Ltd. Vs. Respondent: M. Madhusudhan Reddy and Ors.
Hon'ble Judges/Coram:
G.S. Singhvi and A.K. Ganguly JUDGMENT
G.S. Singhvi, J.
1. Leave granted in SLP (C) Nos. 32750 of 2009 and 35350 of 2009.
2. Appellant - M/s. National Seeds Corporation Ltd. (NSCL) is a Government of India company. Its main functions are to arrange for production of quality seeds of different varieties in the farms of registered growers and supply the same to the farmers. The Respondents own lands in different districts of Andhra Pradesh and are engaged in agriculture/seed production. They filed complaints with the allegation that they had suffered loss due to failure of the crops/less yield because the seeds sold/supplied by the Appellant were defective. District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forums, Kurnool, Mehboob Nagar, Guntur, Khamman and Kakinada allowed the complaints and awarded compensation to the Respondents. The appeals and the revisions filed by the Appellant were dismissed by the Andhra Pradesh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (for short, 'the State Commission') and the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission respectively.
3. The Appellant has questioned the orders of the National Commission, which also implies its challenge to the orders of the State Commission and the District Forums mainly on the following grounds:
(a) the District Forums did not have the jurisdiction to entertain complaints filed by the Respondents because the issues relating to the quality of seeds are governed by the provisions contained in the Seeds Act, 1966 (for short, 'the Seeds Act') and any complaint about the sale or supply of defective seeds can be filed only under the Seeds Act and not under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (for short, 'the Consumer Act').
(b) the District Forums could not have adjudicated upon the complaints filed by the Respondents and awarded compensation to them without following the procedure prescribed under Section 13 of the Consumer Act.
(c) the growers of seeds, who had entered into agreements with it, are not covered by the definition of 'consumer' under Section 2(d) of the Consumer Act because they had purchased the seeds for commercial purpose.
4. For the sake of convenience, we may advert to the facts leading to the passing of orders by three Consumer Forums, which have been impugned in Civil Appeal Nos. 7543 of 2004, 3499 of 2009 and 4519 of 2........