The Supreme Court will not send the ‘VP Shantha’ ruling, which includes doctors under the Consumer Protection Act, to a larger bench. However, it will look at this issue in suitable cases that have a solid factual basis.
The Supreme Court has decided not to send its ruling, which states that medical professionals fall under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (CPA), to a larger panel. The Court mentioned that the issue of including other professionals in the Act could be addressed in future cases. On May 14, 2023, a Two Judge Bench ruled that Advocates are not liable under the CPA for service deficiencies, stating that their services are not included in the Act. This matter was then referred to a three-judge Bench to review the earlier decision in Indian Medical Association v. VP Shantha (1995). The three-judge Bench, consisting of Justices B.R. Gavai, Prashant Kumar Mishra, and K.V. Vishwanathan, concluded that the question of whether other professionals could be included in the CPA should be considered in suitable cases with factual support.
In the case of Bar of Indian Lawyers v. D. K. Gandhi (2024), the Division Bench argued that the legal profession is unique and should not be compared to other professions to exclude it from the CPA. The Court also stated that the ruling in V.P. Shantha should be reviewed by a larger Bench. The V.P. Shantha case determined that medical professionals could be held accountable under the CPA. Today, the three-judge Bench noted that the reference made in that ruling was “not necessary” and remarked that the question of whether a profession can be classified as a business or trade, and thus fall under the definition in Section 2(1)(o), needs to be revisited.
The Court noted that the matter at hand involved the legal profession and clearly stated that the legal profession is not included under the Consumer Protection Act. Because of this conclusion, the reference was not needed, regardless of the previous ruling in Shantha. Therefore, the Court resolved the reference.
Cause Title: Bar of Indian Lawyers v. D. K. Gandhi [C.A. No. 2646/2009]
