The coram of the State Commission included President Sushil Kumar and Member Sudha Upadhyay. They observed that just because WhatsApp is an international company, it does not mean it cannot be brought under Indian consumer laws.
Uttar Pradesh: Today,16th April: The Uttar Pradesh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission ruled that WhatsApp can be sued in Indian consumer courts, as it provides services to people in India.
The case was related to a consumer complaint filed by former IPS officer Amitabh Thakur, who is also the National President of Azad Adhikar Sena.
Thakur had filed a complaint after WhatsApp services were down for about six hours, which he claimed had affected his work.
Earlier, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum in Lucknow had rejected his complaint. It said that since WhatsApp is a foreign company and its services are free, the complaint was not maintainable, meaning it could not be accepted or judged on its merits.
However, the State Consumer Commission disagreed with this view and set aside the district forum’s order.
The coram of the State Commission included President Sushil Kumar and Member Sudha Upadhyay. They observed that just because WhatsApp is an international company, it does not mean it cannot be brought under Indian consumer laws.
The commission clearly said:
“WhatsApp is a service provider company. This company also provides services in India, so it cannot be said that this company is a foreign company and the consumer complaint against it is not maintainable.”
It added:
“Therefore, the conclusion of the District Consumer Commission – that the person using WhatsApp is not a consumer of WhatsApp and the consumer complaint against WhatsApp is not maintainable – is against the law. Therefore, the order passed by the District Consumer Commission is liable to be set aside.”
Amitabh Thakur had gone to the State Consumer Commission after the district forum refused to even register his complaint. The district forum had said that because WhatsApp’s services are free and there was no payment involved, Thakur was not a ‘consumer’ under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
But the State Commission took a different view. It said WhatsApp offers a service by allowing people to exchange personal information. Because of this, people get attracted to use WhatsApp. This makes WhatsApp a service provider, and therefore, consumer complaints can be filed against it under Indian law.
The Commission directed the district forum to register Thakur’s complaint and decide it within 90 days, as per the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
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The Commission said:
“The decision and order passed by the District Consumer Commission is set aside and the District Consumer Commission is expected to register the complaint presented by the complainant as a consumer complaint and ensure its conclusion regarding compensation within the period of 90 days given in the Consumer Protection Act.”
Case TITLE: Amitabh Thakur vs. Whatsapp
