Tribune India: Sunday, September 03, 2023.
Govts and information commissions need to implement the RTI Act in letter and spirit.
Whenever I try to assess the enforcement of a dozen important consumer protection legislations in the country or compare how different states are faring in this area, I am frustrated by the absence of even basic information pertaining to the implementation of the laws on the websites of those entrusted with the job. This is despite Section 4 of the Right To Information (RTI) Act mandating public authorities to provide such data suo motu so that citizens or consumers are not forced to seek that information through an RTI application.
The rules mandate that all measuring instruments are to be verified by the local legal metrology officer. Istock
Let’s take, as an example, a law whose slack enforcement has very wide ramifications for consumers — Legal Metrology Act. Consumers might not even be aware of the range of measuring instruments whose accuracy the enforcement agencies have to ensure. The Legal Metrology Act and Rules mandate that every weight and measure, every weighing and measuring instrument used or intended to be used in any transaction or for protection of living beings shall be verified and stamped by the local legal metrology officer and re-verified and stamped at regular intervals.
Thus, whether it is the weights that your neighbourhood vegetable vendor uses, the scales that the jeweller employs, the flowmeter that the petrol pump deploys, the fare meter fixed in taxis and auto-rickshaws, the weighing machines operated at airports and railway stations, the weighing scales that you use to weigh yourself or a new-born baby, or for that matter, the thermometer and the blood pressure measuring instruments, their precision depends on the calibrations and stamping done by the Department of Legal Metrology.
Even the accuracy of the quantity of cooking gas sold to you or any of the packed goods that you buy, rests on the department. Poor enforcement of this law could also mean that the fabric that you buy or a saree that you purchase may not be the length claimed or promised!
Similarly, the precision of measuring instruments used in laboratories and hallmarking centres is determined by the efficiency of the state legal metrology officers. The Department of Legal Metrology is also responsible for maintaining the correctness of weighbridges, water meters and petrol tanks. Anything involving measurement depends on the enforcement of this law.
There is more. Consumers have a right to information and informed choice and the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules ensure this in respect of all packed goods, including certain medical devices and those sold on e-commerce sites. So, whether it is the date of expiry on the packaged goods or the unit price that helps you compare prices of different brands, or the consumer care number, it is the legal metrology department that has the mandate to ensure compliance with the rules.
Given the importance of this agency in protecting consumer interest, it is imperative that consumers be given full information about the work of the department and how they discharge their duties. Is the department ensuring that all measures used in commerce and trade are properly verified and re-verified without fail? Do they conduct regular market surveillance or surprise checks? If so, what is the frequency? What is the procedure employed?
It is also important to know the number of consumer complaints pertaining to legal metrology received by the department, the nature of complaints, action taken on them, the time taken for responding to the complaints — in short, all information that ensures transparency and accountability in the work of the enforcement agency.
However, if you look at the websites of these departments around the country, you will notice that they do not even give you a complete list of the instruments that they are supposed to stamp and authenticate.
Given this scenario, the Supreme Court’s recent judgment, directing the Central and the State Information Commissions to ensure proper implementation of the mandate of Section 4 of the law, is highly welcome.
Responding to a public interest litigation filed by Kishan Chand Jain [writ petition (civil) No. 990 of 2021], the Supreme Court not only reminded the governments of their obligations under the RTI Act, but also emphasised the role of the Information Commissions in monitoring, reporting and recommending the steps that the public authorities ought to take in implementing the Act.
We need to see how governments and the information commissions together implement the RTI Act in letter and spirit. Consumers should now start hauling up those enforcement agencies that violate Section 4 of the RTI Act for their failure to comply with the Supreme Court judgment.
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