New Delhi, May 09, 2022.

Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Textiles, and Commerce & Industry has sought effective implementation of laws to protect consumer interests without harassment of businesses.

Delivering his inaugural address at the ‘National Workshop on legal Metrology Act, 2009’ here today, Shri Goyal suggested a pragmatic approach to decriminalize laws and urged states to support the initiative to balance the interest of consumers with the need to simplify laws so that businesses, particularly the small enterprises, are not put to undue hardship.

“It’s our collective responsibility to ensure that the consumers do not face injustice while at the same time understanding the responsibility towards businessmen so that they can work peacefully,” the minister said.

He said that the focus should be mainly on differentiating between mens rea and bona fide cases. He gave example stating that if any wrongdoing at places where calibration of Weights & Measurements is done, then strict action should be taken. He mentioned that this is also mentioned in Kautilya’s Arthashastra which mentions ‘Chief Controller of Weights & Measurements’ and states, ‘All measuring instruments shall be inspected and stamped once every four months on payment of stamping fee’.

Talking about the statistics, Shri Goyal said that 97% of cases of first offenses were booked by the State Government on limited sections while no second offense was booked under the same sections. He said that the data exposes the State Governments that are opposing decriminalization.

“Why are there so many first offenses and second offenses are Nil? How many cases are there as 2nd offense in respective states? What has the State Government done when there is no second offense?” he questioned the states.

As per the statistics of the Department of Consumer Affairs, the number of cases booked by the States/UTs as a first offense in 2018-19 was 1,13,745 while those compounded were 97,690. In the same period, the number of second offenses in which case was booked was 12 of which only 4 cases were filed in the court.