ThePrintPod: Govt control has weakened Indian consumers by taking away their right to sue

The year 2025 closed with a series of consumer rights breaches in
the services sector. In early December, IndiGo cancelled and
rescheduled flights en masse due to operational mismanagement and
pilot scheduling issues.In the securities markets, —Avadhut Sathe
Trading Academy was alleged to have misled its students on
various counts. And, in a lesser-known incident, a consumer
approached the Supreme Court over an incorrect negative credit
score that refused to rectify despite previous court orders. In
all three cases, an arm of the State intervened, but consumers
did not get compensation for the harms they suffered. This
underscores a larger faultine: the law has weakened the average
Indian consumer by taking away their agency to sue the service
provider and obtain relief for themselves. If we're serious about
consumer welfare, we must empower them to sue, invidually where
possible and collectively, where necessary. Watch this week's
column by Bhargavi Zaveri-Shah for #ThePrint