The Allahabad High Court has put a temporary halt on consumer complaint proceedings against WhatsApp, a messaging app owned by Meta, after it challenged a ruling by the Uttar Pradesh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (UPSCDRC).
Justice Pankaj Bhatia issued a notice to Amitabh Thakur, who had filed the complaint, and gave him four weeks to respond with a counter-affidavit. The judge also ordered that no further action should be taken under the UPSCDRC’s order until further notice.
“Further proceedings pursuant to the impugned order shall remain stayed,” stated the Court.
Read Also:- WhatsApp Challenges Consumer Complaint Maintainability Before Allahabad High Court
The dispute started when the UPSCDRC ruled that WhatsApp provides services to users in India, so a consumer complaint against it is valid. It directed the District Consumer Commission to accept and resolve the complaint within 90 days under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. This overturned the District Commission’s earlier decision to reject the complaint.
The case involves Amitabh Thakur, a former IPS officer and currently the National President of Azad Adhikar Sena, who claimed that his WhatsApp service was interrupted for six hours. He alleged this disruption affected his work and violated WhatsApp’s terms of service.
Read Also:- Supreme Court Dismisses Vidarbha Hockey Association's Appeal Against Cancellation of Hockey India Membership
Thakur approached the District Forum for compensation. However, the complaint was rejected on the basis that WhatsApp is an international company and Thakur had not paid any money for using its service. Therefore, he was not considered a consumer.
“Since no consideration was paid by the complainant, the service cannot be considered under the Consumer Protection Act,” the Commission had ruled.
Challenging this, Thakur went to the UPSCDRC, which ruled in his favor. In response, WhatsApp filed a plea under Article 227 of the Constitution, asserting that the UPSCDRC’s order was legally flawed.
In its plea, WhatsApp argued that its service is completely free, and hence, users do not fall under the definition of “consumer” as mentioned in the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.
“It is undisputed that Respondent has not paid any consideration to avail the WhatsApp service, precluding his claim under the CPA as a matter of law,” the plea stated.
WhatsApp emphasized that only services that are paid for are covered under the Act. Since it offers its services without any charge, the law does not consider users as consumers. The company also argued that forcing the District Commission to hear the case would be an improper use of jurisdiction.
Read Also:- J&K High Court Quashes Rape Case After 7-Year Relationship; Cites Delay and Lack of Coercion
Further, WhatsApp claimed that the UPSCDRC’s order was made without applying legal reasoning and violated natural justice.
“The impugned order disregards the plain language of the CPA and binding precedents,” the plea highlighted.
The company also took issue with UPSCDRC’s observation that WhatsApp users are consumers because the app’s goal is to attract users.
“If attracting users becomes the basis of defining someone as a consumer, then even free services will come under CPA, which is against the spirit of the law,” WhatsApp argued.
Senior Advocate Vivek Reddy, along with Advocates Shashank Mishra and Utkarsh Kumar, represented WhatsApp. Advocate Nutan Thakur appeared on behalf of Amitabh Thakur.
The matter remains under consideration, with the final decision yet to be made by the High Court.
