The Consumer Courts Advocates’ Association (CCAA) for Maharashtra and Goa : File Complaint Against President of the State Consumer Redressal Commission (SCDRC) Alleging Judicial Impropriety

The Consumer Courts Advocates’ Association (CCAA) for Maharashtra and Goa has filed a complaint against Dr Santosh K Kakade, acting president of the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (SCDRC), for judicial impropriety after he adjudicated a case in which he was a party.

The members of the association discovered this ‘once-in-a-lifetime’ instance in August 2021, when Kakade, who was then a non-judicial member of the SCDRC, dismissed a case in which he was one of the respondents.

The case began with a medical negligence complaint filed before the Solapur District Forum, with a hospital as the first respondent and Kakade as the second respondent. Kakade had even responded to the complaint.

The district forum’s decision to dismiss the complaint was appealed to the SCDRC. The appeal was accepted in 2002 and adjourned sine die (with no appointed date for resumption).

On the same date, he dismissed the appeal for lack of prosecution. Dr. Gopinath Shenoy, a member of the CCAA, discovered this when he presented a certified copy of the order to the association’s Managing Committee.

The Committee requested that Shenoy file a formal complaint with them, which she promptly did, and the Committee decided to call an emergency meeting.

Meanwhile, Kakade allegedly got wind of the certified copies and, while sitting in the SCDRC’s Aurangabad seat, accepted the disposed of appeal and reviewed his August 2021 order.

He noticed that the dismissal order was issued inadvertently.
The CCAA concluded that both the dismissal order and the review order were completely illegal.

Mohit Bhansali, the Secretary of the CCAA, then filed a complaint with Maharashtra’s Secretary of Food and Civil Supply Department, seeking Kakade’s removal as president and member of the SCDRC.

Kakade was accused of using abusive language and mistreating bar members in several instances, according to the complaint filed on February 26.

According to the complaint, Kakade’s family members were involved in a company called Core Indian Institute of Legal Medicine Private Limited, which purportedly provided legal advice to medical professionals.

In response to this complaint, the CCAA called an emergency general body meeting on 27^th February, 2022 to hear the complaints of several of the association’s lawyers.