Consumer Laws

The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 fundamentally reshaped the landscape for both businesses and individual consumers in India, raising the stakes considerably for companies while significantly strengthening the rights and remedies available to consumers. The Act expanded the scope of what qualifies as a consumer dispute, introduced product liability as a distinct concept, created the Central Consumer Protection Authority with powers to investigate and penalise unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements, and enabled class-action-style complaints alongside a simplified, technology-enabled complaint filing process. For businesses, particularly those in manufacturing, retail, financial services, insurance, and e-commerce, this means consumer disputes can no longer be treated as a minor cost of doing business; they now carry real regulatory and financial exposure.

Ashvik Legal’s consumer law practice supports both institutional clients and individuals in navigating this changed environment. On the corporate side, the firm advises banks, insurers, and other institutional clients on structuring products, disclosures, and grievance redressal mechanisms to minimise exposure under the Act, and represents them before the District, State, and National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions when disputes do arise, including matters involving product liability, deficiency in service, and unfair trade practices. On the individual side, the firm represents consumers seeking redress for grievances against manufacturers, service providers, and financial institutions, ensuring that individuals are able to meaningfully exercise the stronger protections the 2019 Act affords them.

Given the firm’s substantial institutional client base, including insurers and financial institutions, Ashvik Legal brings a practical, dual-sided understanding of consumer disputes: an appreciation of how regulatory risk looks from a business’s perspective, combined with genuine attentiveness to the individual grievances that consumer law is meant to address. This allows the firm to advise clients not just on how to defend a consumer claim, but on how to reduce the likelihood of disputes arising in the first place, consistent with Ashvik Legal’s broader emphasis on commercially sound, solution-oriented counsel.