Advocates cannot be brought under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019
A significant ruling by the Supreme Court
New Delhi – The Supreme Court Bench has ruled that advocates cannot be brought under the purview of the Consumer Protection Act. In 2007, the National Consumer Commission said that services rendered by an advocate to his client are in exchange for money. For this reason, it is a contract. A customer can file a complaint under the Consumer Protection Act against his advocate for deficiency in service.
This decision was made by the Supreme Court on April 13, 2009. The Bench also said the legal profession could not be treated as ‘business’ or ‘trade’, nor could the services provided by ‘professionals’ be treated at par with services provided by businessmen or traders. Advocates are generally perceived to be their client’s agents and owe fiduciary duties to their clients. The Bench accordingly held that the services hired or availed of an advocate would be that of a contract ‘of personal service’ and thus do not fall within the definition of “service” contained in Section 2(42) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.