AI in focus as govt looks to amend consumer law
The proposed changes aim to ease the burden of litigants who often have to wait for years before their disputes are settled
The government plans to amend the flagship Consumer Protection Act , 2019 to ensure speedier justice through statutory provisions mandating the use of technologies, such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and machine learning, an official aware of the matter said, after a closed-door brainstorming session Friday.
The first bureaucratic-level meet was held to “review the consumer redressal framework” and evolve an “action plan for strengthening consumer justice”, according to details reviewed by HT.
The government aims to bring AI and machine-learning tools into post-litigation proceedings to ease hearings in the country’s three-tier consumer court system, from district to national level, to adjudicate consumer disputes more efficiently.
The proposed changes, for which a “chintan shivir” (deliberations) was held, aim to “deliver speedy”, and importantly, “hassle free and inexpensive justice delivery”, said Union consumer affairs secretary Nidhi Khare.
During the meeting, Justice Amreshwar Pratap Sahi, president of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, proposed a structured and regular performance audit that not only checks procedural compliance but also measures the actual impact of the law in delivering justice to consumers. He also emphasized the growing role of technology, including AI tools like ChatGPT.
The proposed changes aim to ease the burden of litigants who often have to wait for years before their disputes are settled in a country where the pendency of consumer cases stood at nearly 600,000, according to official data.
According to the official data, consumers are now increasingly using a nationwide helpline (1915) to log complaints that are taken up by the consumer affairs department under the Consumer Protection Act 2019.
Adoption of digital channels has also surged, with grievance registration via WhatsApp rising from 3% in March 2023 to 20% in March 2025, the data showed, bolstering the need for statutory provisions to beef up the role of technology, a second official said.
Officials are also analysing data to determine how and which technologies should be deployed. According to the data, after e-commerce, the travel and tourism sector recorded the highest number of complaints, with refunds totaling ₹81 lakh till August.
E-commerce has seen significant penetration in tier-two and tier-three cities, with sales estimated at $125 billion in 2024, according to Statista, a private data firm.
