Consumer Forum Complaint on e-Jagriti: DCDRC, SCDRC, NCDRC

A consumer complaint is a formal grievance under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 against a seller or service provider for a defect in goods, a deficiency in service, an unfair trade practice or overcharging. You file it at a Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission and ask for a refund, replacement, compensation or removal of the defect. Since 1 January 2025, the filing happens online on e-Jagriti.

A relative in our family paid Rs 38,000 to a coaching institute, the batch never started, and the office kept saying “next week” for three months. The instinct is to give up because “court” sounds expensive and far away. It is not. The consumer forum was built precisely for this: the fee on a Rs 38,000 claim is zero, you can file from home on e-Jagriti, and under the 2019 Act you can file in your own city because the law now lets you complain where you live, not only where the company sits. This guide walks the whole path: choosing the forum, the fee, the e-Jagriti steps, what the complaint must say, and how to appeal if you lose.

The single most important and most misunderstood rule: the forum is decided by the value of the goods or services you paid as consideration, fixed by the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021 (notified 30 December 2021). It is not the compensation figure you are claiming. A person who paid Rs 40,000 but claims Rs 5 lakh in compensation still files at the District Commission, because the consideration paid was Rs 40,000.

Territorial jurisdiction (Section 34). A District Commission complaint can be filed where: the opposite party resides, works for gain or has a branch office; the cause of action arose, wholly or in part; or where you, the complainant, reside or personally work for gain. That last ground is the citizen-friendly change in the 2019 Act: you no longer have to travel to the seller's city.

The fee is set by the Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020 and is also scaled to the consideration paid. For the District Commission:

• Up to Rs 5 lakh: Nil (no fee at all)
• Above Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh: Rs 200
• Above Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh: Rs 400
• Above Rs 20 lakh to Rs 50 lakh: Rs 1,000
• Above Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore: Rs 2,000

On e-Jagriti the fee is paid online through the integrated payment gateway as part of filing, so there is no separate demand draft to courier for most District filings. Most everyday complaints, mobile phones, appliances, coaching fees, small builder issues, fall in the Nil-fee band.

e-Jagriti (https://e-jagriti.gov.in) is the unified portal run by the Department of Consumer Affairs that merged e-Daakhil, the NCDRC case-management system, OCMS and CONFONET into one place from 1 January 2025. It handles District, State and National filings, online fee payment and virtual hearings.

1. Register. Create an account on e-Jagriti with your mobile number and email, then verify the OTP. Keep one login for the whole case.
2. Start a new case. Choose “Consumer Complaint”, select the State and the District Commission that has jurisdiction over you (or the opposite party), based on Step 1.
3. Enter the parties. Add your details as complainant and the full legal name and address of the company or seller as the opposite party. A wrong or vague address is the commonest reason notices fail, use the registered office.
4. Draft and upload the complaint. Upload your complaint (the contents are in Step 4) along with an index and a verification/affidavit.
5. Attach evidence. Bills, the agreement, receipts, payment proof, emails, WhatsApp screenshots, warranty cards, the complaint you already sent the company, all as clear PDFs.
6. Pay the fee. Pay online through the portal gateway. A Nil-fee claim still completes this step at zero.
7. Submit and note the number. You get a case/diary number. The Commission issues notice to the opposite party; track the case and hearing dates from your e-Jagriti dashboard.

A complaint that gets admitted and not returned for defects must clearly state:

• The parties with full names and addresses.
• The facts in date order: what you bought, what you paid, what went wrong.
• The cause of action and its date, the day the defect or deficiency arose, because this starts your two-year clock.
• The deficiency or unfair trade practice you are alleging, in plain terms.
• The relief sought, refund, replacement, compensation for loss, removal of defect, and costs.
• A verification/affidavit swearing the contents are true.

The two-year limitation (Section 69). A Commission “shall not admit a complaint unless it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action has arisen.” File late and it is time-barred, unless you ask for condonation and satisfy the Commission of “sufficient cause”, which it must record in writing. Do not bank on condonation: file inside two years.

The Act builds a clear ladder. Each rung has its own clock, so diarise the date you receive the order.

1. District to State (Section 41): appeal to the State Commission within 45 days of the District order, on facts or law.
2. State to National (Section 51): appeal to the National Commission within 30 days. If the order made you pay an amount, you must first deposit 50% of it for the appeal to be entertained.
3. National to Supreme Court (Section 67): appeal to the Supreme Court within 30 days, but only against an NCDRC order passed in its original jurisdiction (a complaint above Rs 2 crore that started at the NCDRC). Orders the NCDRC passes while sitting in appeal are not appealable to the Supreme Court as of right under Section 67.

All three appeal stages are filed and tracked on e-Jagriti as well.

No. The consumer forum is designed for citizens to appear in person, and you can file and argue your own case on e-Jagriti. A lawyer helps for high-value or legally complex disputes, but for an everyday refund or deficiency claim, most people file themselves.

Two years from the date the cause of action arose, under Section 69 of the Consumer Protection Act 2019. A Commission can condone a delay only if you show sufficient cause and it records written reasons, so treat two years as a hard deadline.

Yes, if it bought the goods or service as a “consumer”, that is, not for resale or for a commercial purpose. Purchases made to earn a livelihood through self-employment are not treated as commercial. A pure business-to-business purchase for commercial use usually falls outside the definition.

e-Jagriti replaced and absorbed e-Daakhil on 1 January 2025, along with the older NCDRC, OCMS and CONFONET systems. There is now one portal, https://e-jagriti.gov.in, for District, State and National filings.

Log in to your e-Jagriti dashboard with the same account you filed from. It shows your case status, the next hearing date and any orders. The portal also supports virtual hearings, so many appearances can be done online.

The forum is fixed by what you paid as consideration, not what you claim. If you paid Rs 40,000 and claim Rs 5 lakh compensation, you still file at the District Commission, because Rs 40,000 is well under the Rs 50 lakh District ceiling.

• If your loss came from a road accident rather than a faulty product or service, the consumer forum is the wrong door, use the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal: How to file a MACT petition for motor-accident compensation.
• Not sure a consumer forum is even the right body for your grievance? See Which regulator to complain to: SEBI, RBI, IRDAI, TRAI, DGCA.
• To master the wider citizen-complaint and transparency toolkit, read The RTI Playbook.

• Consumer Protection Act 2019, Sections 34, 41, 51, 67 and 69 (India Code).
• Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021, PIB release PRID 1786342.
• Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020 (fee schedule).
• e-Jagriti portal, Department of Consumer Affairs: https://e-jagriti.gov.in

Reviewed for accuracy by the RTI Wiki editorial desk, Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak and Kashvi Pathak.

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