A verdict dated 14 May 2024 by Justice Bela M Trivedi and Justice Pankaj Mithal has declared that services provided by advocates shall not be covered under the Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”), 2019. This judgment has, thus, questioned the very basis of the application of the CPA to medical services as laid down in the V.P. Shantha judgement. The bench opined that the legislature could never have intended the Act to cover professional services, which are already governed by respective professional councils. The ruling raised questions of procedural propriety about a partial referral to a larger bench and judgment on hypothetical premises. It is at this juncture that differentiation between the legal and the medical professions had to be brought out, concerning standards of care. The Court referred the issue for reconsideration to a larger bench, without clarifying if the referral pertains to the whole judgment of Shantha or only the question of including professionals under the CPA that is under scrutiny. The case epitomizes the dilemma of balancing consumer protection with the maintenance of professional standards. It calls for review to guarantee a regime both of professional accountability and of consumer rights in dynamic consumer protection amidst technological advancement and global networking.
