Naidu takes oath as new Vice President

Naidu takes oath as new Vice President - M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday took oath as the new Vice President at a simple ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhawan's Durbar Hall here.

President Ram Nath Kovind administered the oath of office to the former Bharatiya Janata Party leader in Hindi.

Naidu, 68, who was hitherto part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's cabinet, succeeded M. Hamid Ansari who served two consecutive terms since August 2007.

Nominated by the ruling BJP-led National Democratic Alliance, Naidu won the August 5 poll defeating former West Bengal Governor and Mahatma Gandhi's grandson Gopalkrishna Gandhi.

Naidu won 516 out of the 760 valid votes, winning the highest vote share in three decades in the vice presidential poll.

A two-time Union Minister and four-time Rajya Sabha member, Naidu earlier held the Parliamentary Affairs, Information and Broadcasting and Urban Development portfolios.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his predecessor Manmohan Singh and Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh were among those present on the occasion.

Earlier, Naidu paid floral tribute to Mahatma Gandhi at Rajghat. He also paid tributes to Jan Sangh leader Deendayal Upadhyaya, besides Sardar Vallabhai Patel and Babasaheb B.R. Ambedkar.

Source: http://www.dailypioneer.com/

Online buyers can sue sellers anywhere: SC

Online buyers can sue sellers anywhere - Online consumers can sue a company for deficiency in services at any consumer court of their choice. At times when e-commerce trading is growing rapidly, this ruling from the Supreme Court has brought a big relief for consumers going for online purchase of products through websites and e-commerce apps.

In over-the-counter purchases, a consumer can file a complaint in the consumer court only within the local limits where the company/ opposite party resides, carries on business or where the transaction takes place.

A Bench of Justices Adarsh K Goel and S Abdul Nazeer on Friday upheld a ruling of the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission (NCDRC) six months ago. The NCDRC had ordered budget carrier Spicejet to pay Rs 1.25 lakh compensation to a passenger for cancellation of flight. A Chandigarh-based woman, Rajni Aery, booked a ticket (Chandigarh to Delhi via Bagdodra and Kolkata) on yatra.com on June 23, 2015 by paying Rs 70,900. The airline cancelled her return flight from Kolkata to Delhi without any reason and provided her no alternative. She approached the consumer court in Chandigarh and secured an order against Spicejet. In the appeal, the airline claimed that the Chandigarh court did not have jurisdiction to hear the case as the place of business of the company was at Gurugram.

Rejecting this argument, the NCDRC in its order of February 7, 2017 found the company guilty of cancelling the flight without reason when on that day 128 flights took off from Kolkata without delay. The NCDRC noted that the airline gave no explanation for cancellation and failed to make any alternative arrangements.

The consumer purchased a ticket at a cost of Rs 80,855 after borrowing money from her relatives at Kolkata.

Besides the compensation, the NCDRC directed the airline to refund the consumer Rs 80,855 with interest at nine per cent after deducting the airfare between Kolkata and Delhi. The company was also to compensate Rs 10,000 as litigation cost towards the consumer.

“We do not find any ground to interfere with the impugned order. The special leave petition (by the airline) is accordingly dismissed,” said the Supreme Court bench.

The airline relied on Section 11 of Consumer Protection Act which allows a complaint to be instituted by a consumer within the local limits of where the opposite party resides or carries on business or where cause of action arises.

The State Consumer Commission said that the Section required an expansive and rational interpretation as the objective of the Act is to provide a hassle free redressal mechanism to consumers. Moreover, the Commission said that if such an argument is accepted, consumers of online transactions will be put at peril. In its order of December 29, 2015, the State Commission observed, “In the present times, the availability of goods and services, through websites at a particular place, has virtually become the same thing, as a seller having shops, in that place, in the physical sense… As a result, territorial jurisdiction over a consumer complaint would lie with the consumer for a situated at any place, where any of the aforementioned causes of action arises.”

Source : http://www.dailypioneer.com/todays-newspaper