The Tussle Between Consumer Law And An Arbitration Agreement Put To Rest: A Case Comment On Smt. M. Hemalatha Devi & Ors. V. B Udaysri (2022)
- IJLLR Journal
- Jan 21
- 1 min read
Vaishnavi Makne, Symbiosis Law School, Nagpur
I. Introduction:
In the present case comment, the researcher aims to analyze the Supreme Court judgement of- Smt. M. Hemalatha Devi & Ors. v. B Udaysri (2022) in which the main issue in front of the court was whether consumer disputes can be referred to arbitration, in the presence of a pre- existing arbitration agreement. The present case re-affirms the already existing stand of the court in several judgements which uphold that the presence of a valid arbitration agreement doesn’t oust the jurisdiction of the Consumer Forums and the consumer has a choice regarding the same. In the researcher’s opinion, the true legacy of the case lies in the obiter dicta of the judgment which is discussed subsequently.
In this case comment, the researcher aims to identify the issues present before the court, state the facts and background of the case briefly, and provide a critical analysis of the decision by considering various aspects of the decision. Let us begin by stating the issues in the case.
A. Issuesinthecase1:
The prominent subject-matter pertaining to the issues of the case was regarding the jurisdiction of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1986 and the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The issues of relevant factual and jurisprudential value can be listed as below:
ISSUE 1:
Whether the dispute existing between the parties is capable of arbitration and further, can a party be forced to go for arbitration once it has already availed the remedy before a public forum under a special beneficial legislation?
