Any Legal Heir Or Representative Of Deceased Can Maintain Consumer Complaint On Their Behalf: Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has held that any “legal heir” and “representative” of a deceased consumer can maintain a consumer complaint on his/her behalf.Justice Manoj Jain observed that the Consumer Protection Act 1986 does not make any distinction between a class-I or class-II legal heir defined under the Hindu Succession Act, 1956.The bench thus dismissed objections to a deceased consumer's brother (Class-II legal heir) filing a consumer complaint, despite the survival of the consumer's wife and child (Class-I legal heirs). It observed,“The provisions of Consumer Protection Act, 1986, being a welfare legislation, need to be construed in a liberal manner and in any case, the brother of the deceased would still fall within the definition of complainant as he is definitely his representative as well as the legal heir even if, of a little remote degree.”The Court was dealing with the plea moved by a doctor, hauled up in the consumer complaint over alleged deficiency in services offered to the consumer at the hospital, leading to his death.The primary contention of the doctor was that the consumer's brother was not “legally competent” to file a complaint when legal heirs of the deceased were alive. He is not a Class-I heir as per Hindu Succession Act, it was argued.The High Court referred to Section 2(1)(b) of Consumer Protection Act which defines who can be the complainant.Sub-clause (v) thereof stipulates that in case of death of a consumer, his legal heir or representative can make the complaint.Relying on this provision, the High Court said,“It really does not matter whether the complainant describes himself as a trustee or karta or a self-styled caretaker of widow and daughters of the deceased. He is, definitely, not a stranger or a rank-outsider…Words “legal heir” and “representative” have not been defined in Consumer Protection Act, 1986, but these cannot be given any restricted and rigid meaning. Moreover, the Act does not make any distinction between a class-I or class-II legal heir. It only refers to word “legal heir”.”The High Court further noted that the widow and daughters of the deceased could not be served as their addresses were not known and his mother (also a Class-I heir) had been impleaded as a party.As such, the Court dismissed the doctor's plea and directed NCDRC to dispose of the matter expeditiously.Appearance: For the Petitioner: Mr. Sugata Shankar Roy, Advocate For the Respondent: Mr. A.K. Thakur, Mr. Rishi Raj and Mr. Sujeet Kumar, Advocates for R-1 to R-3 Mr. Sanjoy Kumar Ghosh, Mr. Prabir Basu and Ms. Rupali S. Ghosh, Advocates for R-4 & R-5Case title: Soumya Bhattacharya v. Sudhir Kumar Thakur & Ors.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Del) 1149Case no.: CM(M) 757/2022Click here to read order

Any Legal Heir Or Representative Of Deceased Can Maintain Consumer Complaint On Their Behalf: Delhi High Court

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