12 Years On, 554 Kashmir Flood Cases Still Await Justice

(MENAFN- Kashmir Observer) Srinagar – More than a decade after the devastating 2014 floods, 554 consumer cases arising from the disaster are still pending before the J&K State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, raising fresh questions over the pace and transparency of consumer justice in the Union Territory.

The startling figure has emerged from an RTI reply issued by the Commission, which reveals that 1,356 cases remain pending among those taken up after its reconstitution under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.

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The flood-related backlog is particularly striking: 554 cases connected to the 2014 floods continue to remain pending, even as victims have spent years waiting for their disputes to be resolved.

'Disposed'-but how many were actually decided?

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The RTI reply raises as many questions as it answers.

The Commission says it took up 1,738 cases inherited from the erstwhile J&K State Consumer Commission and disposed of 815 cases between February 7, 2023 and March 31, 2026.

But the reply does not provide a breakup of the 815 disposals or clarify how many cases were actually decided on merits. Nor does it identify how many cases were disposed of by the Jammu wing and Srinagar wing separately.

That absence of detail makes it difficult to assess the Commission's disposal rate or determine the actual workload and performance of its two wings.

The Commission also reported 360 new cases filed during the last three years, of which 145 were disposed of.

Notices issued five years late

In another startling revelation, insiders familiar with the proceedings have claimed that notices in around 300 pending cases were issued only in 2026-nearly five years after the Commission was reconstituted.

If established, the development could raise serious questions about the pace at which cases were being processed and notices served during the intervening period.

The RTI application had specifically sought information on pending and disposed cases, new filings and the functioning of the Commission's Jammu and Srinagar offices.

Members' tenure ends, proceedings continue?

Meanwhile, insiders have also raised questions over the continuation of two Commission members whose terms, according to them, expired around three months ago.

The sources claimed that the two members continue to participate in proceedings despite the expiry of their terms and without any formal government orders extending their tenure.

The claim could not be independently established from the RTI reply, which does not address the tenure of Commission members. It nevertheless raises a potentially serious administrative and legal question over the validity of proceedings conducted by members whose tenure may have expired.

Read Also CAG Flags Major Lapses In J&K Flood Recovery Project Video: Why Are 2014 Flood Cases Still Piling Up In JK Consumer Commission?

Durbar Move not an excuse

The Commission, in its RTI response, has clarified that following its reconstitution, both Jammu and Srinagar offices function throughout the year simultaneously, and therefore the Durbar Move does not affect the number of cases taken up in any particular month.

The figures, however, leave an uncomfortable picture: 554 flood-related consumer disputes remain unresolved 12 years after the disaster, while the Commission carries a total pending caseload of 1,356 cases.

For thousands of consumers who have turned to the statutory forum for relief, the question is no longer merely when their cases will be heard-but when they will finally be decided.

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