Consumer Court Types and Jurisdiction in India: Where to File

India has a three-tier consumer court structure, and the tier you file in is fixed by one number: the consideration you paid for the goods or service. Up to Rs 50 lakh the complaint goes to the District Commission, above Rs 50 lakh and up to Rs 2 crore to the State Commission, and above Rs 2 crore to the National Commission. Where within that tier you file is a separate question, answered by territorial jurisdiction, and since the Consumer Protection Act 2019 you can usually file in your own district. Getting either question wrong wastes months, because a complaint filed outside a commission's limits can be returned or dismissed.

Part of the consumer protection practice at S Jain & Attorneys, Bangalore.

This guide explains the three types of consumer commissions, the money limits that fix their jurisdiction and where those limits actually come from, the territorial rules, how online filing now works on the government's e-Jagriti platform, what a complaint costs, how long it should take, and what to do when the other side simply ignores the order.

What is a consumer court?

A "consumer court" is the everyday name for the quasi-judicial bodies set up to resolve disputes between consumers and sellers or service providers. The Consumer Protection Act 2019, which replaced the 1986 Act, calls them Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions. They are designed to be faster and less formal than civil courts, and you do not strictly need a lawyer to appear. Section 38(6) is the clearest sign of that design: every complaint is heard on affidavit and documentary evidence placed on record, and oral examination of the parties, in person or by video conferencing, happens only if the Commission is persuaded to allow it for reasons recorded in writing.

A complaint can be filed for defective goods, deficient services, unfair or restrictive trade practices, overcharging, hazardous products, unfair contracts and product liability. Online purchases are squarely covered: the Explanation to Section 2(7) makes clear that buying goods and availing services include offline or online transactions through electronic means, teleshopping, direct selling and multi-level marketing.

Which forum hears the complaint depends on two questions: how much was paid (pecuniary jurisdiction) and where the cause of action arose or the opposite party operates (territorial jurisdiction). Both must be satisfied.

The three consumer commissions and their jurisdiction

The Act creates a three-level hierarchy. Each level is both a court of first filing for cases within its money limit and an appellate body for the level below.

District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

The District Commission sits in each district and is the entry point for most everyday complaints: faulty appliances, builder delays of moderate value, mis-sold insurance, deficient repairs, refused refunds. It hears complaints where the value of the goods or services paid as consideration does not exceed Rs 50 lakh. Under Section 34(3) it ordinarily functions at the district headquarters. Appeals go to the State Commission.

State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

The State Commission operates at the level of each State or Union Territory. As a court of first instance it hears complaints where the consideration paid exceeds Rs 50 lakh but does not exceed Rs 2 crore, and it also hears appeals against orders of the District Commissions in that State. Section 47 additionally gives it complaints against unfair contracts, and a revisional power under Section 47(1)(b) to call for the records of any consumer dispute pending before or decided by a District Commission in the State where that Commission has exercised a jurisdiction not vested in it, has failed to exercise one that is, or has acted illegally or with material irregularity.

National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission

The National Commission, the NCDRC, sits in New Delhi and is the apex consumer forum. It hears complaints where the consideration paid exceeds Rs 2 crore, appeals against State Commission orders, and appeals against orders of the Central Consumer Protection Authority. A further appeal on its original orders lies to the Supreme Court under Section 67.

Pecuniary jurisdiction: the money limits and where they come from

The figures in the bare Act are not the figures you file on, and that catches people out. Section 34(1) as enacted set the District Commission's limit at one crore rupees, Section 47 set the State band at one to ten crore, and Section 58 set the National Commission's floor at ten crore. Each of those sections carries a proviso allowing the Central Government to prescribe some other value. It did. By notification G.S.R. 912(E) dated 30 December 2021, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution made the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021, which revised the slabs downward to Rs 50 lakh and Rs 2 crore.

The amount that fixes jurisdiction is the consideration paid, which is the language Section 34(1) itself uses: "the value of the goods or services paid as consideration". It is not the compensation you are claiming. The NCDRC settled the point for the 2019 Act in M/s Pyaridevi Chabiraj Steels Pvt. Ltd. v. National Insurance Company Ltd. (Consumer Case No. 833 of 2020, order dated 28 August 2020), holding that only the value of the goods or services paid as consideration is to be taken, not the value of goods or services claimed. This changed practice significantly for insurance and property matters, where the premium or the instalments paid can be far smaller than the sum insured or the value of the flat.

Key takeaway. Because the slabs sit in delegated rules rather than in the Act, they can be changed again by a single notification without Parliament being involved. Check the current rules before you file, and never work off a figure quoted in an older article or judgment. If you are near a boundary, the safest course is to compute the consideration precisely from receipts rather than round it.

Territorial jurisdiction: where can you file?

Pecuniary jurisdiction decides which level. Territorial jurisdiction decides which location within that level. Section 34(2) allows a complaint to be instituted where:

• the opposite party, or each of them where there are more than one, ordinarily resides, carries on business, has a branch office or personally works for gain; or
• any one of several opposite parties actually and voluntarily resides, carries on business, has a branch office or personally works for gain, with the permission of the Commission; or
• the cause of action, wholly or in part, arises; or
• the complainant resides or personally works for gain.

That last ground, Section 34(2)(d), is the major improvement over the 1986 Act. Earlier, consumers often had to travel to the seller's city. Now you can usually file in your own home district, which matters most for online purchases and for insurance and telecom disputes where the company is headquartered elsewhere.

Common mistake. Suing the wrong entity, or only the local one. Name the manufacturer, the seller and the service provider where each has a role, and plead specifically what each did. A complaint against a dealer alone, when the defect is a manufacturing defect, ends with a partial or useless order. Equally, adding a party solely to create territorial jurisdiction is a tactic the Commissions see through.

Filing online: e-Jagriti, which replaced e-Daakhil

You no longer have to visit the Commission in person to lodge a complaint. Section 35(1) itself provides that a complaint may be filed electronically in the prescribed manner. The government portal for this was e-Daakhil; it has since been brought into e-Jagriti at e-jagriti.gov.in, the Department of Consumer Affairs platform that now handles electronic filing, case tracking and document exchange across the District, State and National Commissions on one interface. If you have an old bookmark or an older guide pointing at e-Daakhil, use e-Jagriti instead.

1. Register on the portal with your email and mobile number and verify by OTP.
2. Log in and start a new case, selecting the State and the Commission. The portal routes you by value, but the responsibility for choosing the right forum remains yours.
3. Enter the particulars of the complainant and of each opposite party, with complete addresses. Registered office addresses can be taken from the MCA portal and should be used rather than a customer-care address.
4. Upload the documents: the complaint, an index, the supporting invoices, warranty card, policy, correspondence and any legal notice, and the affidavit verifying the complaint, in the prescribed format.
5. Pay the fee online. It is slab-based and modest at the District level.
6. Submit and track. You receive an acknowledgement and can monitor status, orders and next dates online.

Online filing changes the act of filing, not the rules of jurisdiction. Keep the originals of every document; the Commission can call for them, and a case built entirely on scanned copies of documents you no longer possess is a weak one.

What it costs and how long it should take

Fees are prescribed under the Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020 and are keyed to the value of the goods or services. At the District level the fee is nil where the consideration is up to Rs 5 lakh, Rs 200 above Rs 5 lakh and up to Rs 10 lakh, Rs 400 above Rs 10 lakh and up to Rs 20 lakh, and Rs 1,000 above Rs 20 lakh and up to Rs 50 lakh. Because these are rules rather than statute, confirm the current schedule on the portal before you pay.

On timelines, Section 38 sets the framework. The Commission must refer a copy of the admitted complaint to the opposite party within twenty-one days of admission, and the opposite party gets thirty days to respond, extendable by not more than fifteen days. Every complaint is to be decided, so far as possible, within three months from the date the opposite party receives notice, or five months where the goods require laboratory analysis or testing. Adjournments are not to be granted ordinarily, and where one is granted the Commission is to record reasons and make an order as to costs.

Deadline warning. The two-year limitation in Section 69 runs from the date the cause of action arose, and the appeal periods in Sections 41, 51 and 67 are short: forty-five days, thirty days and thirty days respectively. Condonation is discretionary and must be supported by reasons the Commission records in writing, so it is never a plan. Diarise the appeal date on the day you receive the order, not the day you decide to appeal.

What the Commission can order, and what happens if it is ignored

Section 39 sets out the reliefs: removal of the defect, replacement with goods free of defect, refund of the price or charges with interest, compensation for loss or injury caused by negligence, compensation in a product liability action, removal of deficiencies in a service, discontinuance of an unfair or restrictive trade practice, withdrawal of hazardous goods from sale, and costs. The Commission can also award punitive damages in circumstances it thinks fit.

Enforcement is where consumers often give up too early. Under Section 71 the Commission's order is enforceable as a decree of a civil court, and the Commission has all the powers of a civil court for that purpose. Section 72 goes further: whoever fails to comply with an order is punishable with imprisonment of not less than one month and up to three years, or a fine of not less than Rs 25,000 and up to Rs 1 lakh, or both, and the Commission has the powers of a Judicial Magistrate of the first class to try the offence. A well-drafted execution application citing Section 72 changes the tone of a defaulting company's correspondence very quickly.

This is what a Commission can order, and what stands behind the order if it is ignored.

Mediation, which the Act actively encourages

Section 37 allows the Commission, at the first hearing after admission or later, to direct the parties to give written consent to mediation within five days, and to refer the matter within five days of receiving that consent. Consumer mediation cells are established under Section 74. For disputes where the company is willing to settle but its internal approvals need cover, mediation often produces in one sitting what contested hearings take a year to reach.

A simple decision path

1. Add up what you actually paid for the goods or service. That is the consideration, and it decides District, State or National.
2. Check you are within two years of the cause of action, and if not, prepare a condonation application with documents explaining the delay.
3. Identify your location options: your own district, the opposite party's place of business or branch office, or where the cause of action arose.
4. Send a written demand or legal notice and keep proof of delivery. It is not compulsory, but it creates the record of deficiency and often resolves the matter.
5. Draft the complaint with a specific prayer: the exact refund or replacement, quantified compensation, interest and costs. Vague prayers get vague orders.
6. File on e-Jagriti, or physically, at the Commission that satisfies both the money limit and a valid location ground, with the affidavit and index.
7. Track the case and press for early service, because delay in service is the single biggest cause of a consumer case exceeding the statutory timeline.

What I tell clients

Two things. First, the consumer forum rewards documents and punishes narrative. The complaints that win quickly are the ones where the invoice, the warranty terms, one clear written complaint to the company, and the company's own reply are all on the file, and the prayer asks for a specific sum. The complaints that drag are the ones built on phone calls nobody recorded and a general sense of having been treated badly. Second, decide early whether you actually want the money or the principle, because they run at different speeds. If a company offers a settlement at mediation that is close to your refund, taking it is usually the right commercial answer, and it is available under Section 37 without giving up anything if it fails. The place these matters most often fail is service of notice on the opposite party: a customer-care address instead of the registered office costs three hearings before anyone notices.

For a fuller walkthrough of drafting and evidence, see our practice page on consumer protection law, and our related guide on how to file a complaint in a consumer court. If a money-recovery angle overlaps, our note on filing a money recovery suit may also help. You can read the bare Act on the Government of India's official portal, Consumer Protection Act 2019 on India Code.

Frequently Asked Questions

This article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Laws change and every situation is different; please consult a qualified advocate about your specific matter.

Related guides and where to get help

If this is a live problem rather than background reading, our consumer protection practice handles these matters from Bengaluru, including for clients who cannot attend court in person. These guides go deeper on the neighbouring questions:

• How to File a Consumer Complaint in India: A Step-by-Step Guide
• Medical Negligence in India: Where to File, What to Prove and What You Can Claim
• Consumer Forum or Civil Court for Property Demolition?