How to File a Consumer Complaint Online on e-Jagriti

You can file a consumer complaint online, from wherever you live, on the government's e-Jagriti platform. It replaced the older e-Daakhil portal from 1 January 2025. Complaints where you paid up to Rs 5 lakh carry no filing fee, the District Commission hears cases where you paid up to Rs 50 lakh, and you must normally file within two years of the problem arising.

This guide covers the online process for a complaint about deficient service or defective goods. For a fuller explanation of the three tiers of commissions and the common jurisdiction mistake, see our guide on which consumer forum to approach.

e-Daakhil is now part of e-Jagriti

The Department of Consumer Affairs launched e-Jagriti on 1 January 2025 as a single platform that integrated the earlier systems, including e-Daakhil, CONFONET and the National Commission's case system. According to the Department's year-end review, it offers OTP-based registration, digital document exchange, online fee payment, case tracking and virtual hearings, and it works for District Commissions, State Commissions and the National Commission. Non-resident Indians can also file through it. If you see older articles telling you to use e-Daakhil, the same filing now happens on e-Jagriti.

Online filing has a legal basis. Section 35 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 allows a complaint to be filed electronically, and says the fee may be paid in electronic form.

Is your problem a consumer complaint?

The Act defines deficiency as any fault, imperfection, shortcoming or inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance of a service that the law requires or that the provider undertook under a contract. It expressly includes negligence that causes loss and deliberately withholding relevant information from the consumer. Typical examples are a bank charging fees it should not, an airline refusing a refund, a builder delaying possession or a repair service that never fixed the product.

Two limits matter. You must have paid, or promised to pay, for the goods or service. And a person who buys goods or avails a service for a commercial purpose is not a consumer, although buying something to earn your own livelihood by self-employment is allowed.

Which commission, and what it costs

The commission is chosen by the value of goods or services you paid as consideration, not by the compensation you are claiming. Under the Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction) Rules, 2021, the limits are:

• District Commission: up to Rs 50 lakh paid.
• State Commission: above Rs 50 lakh and up to Rs 2 crore.
• National Commission: above Rs 2 crore.

The filing fee is set by Rule 7 of the Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020, as substituted in August 2023. It is nil up to Rs 5 lakh, Rs 200 above Rs 5 lakh up to Rs 10 lakh, Rs 400 up to Rs 20 lakh, Rs 1,000 up to Rs 50 lakh, Rs 2,000 up to Rs 1 crore and Rs 2,500 up to Rs 2 crore, rising in steps to Rs 7,500 above Rs 10 crore.

You can file where you live

Section 34(2) lets you file in the District Commission where the opposite party lives or has a business or branch office, where the cause of action arose, or where you yourself reside or personally work for gain. For most people, the last option means filing at home rather than in the company's city.

Should you send a legal notice first?

The Act does not require a legal notice before a consumer complaint. Sending one is still useful. A written consumer legal notice sets out what went wrong and what you want, gives the trader a fixed time to fix it, and becomes evidence that you tried to settle. Many disputes end at this stage.

Filing on e-Jagriti, step by step

1. Collect your evidence: invoice or receipt, payment proof, warranty or contract, screenshots, emails and chats, complaint numbers given by the company and any reply to your notice.
2. Draft the complaint. Set out the facts in date order, the deficiency, the loss caused, and the reliefs you want, such as refund, replacement, compensation and costs.
3. Register on e-Jagriti using your mobile number and email, which are verified by OTP.
4. Choose the correct commission based on the amount paid and the place of filing you are relying on under Section 34(2).
5. Enter the details of each opposite party, upload the complaint and documents in the format the portal asks for, and pay the fee online where one applies.
6. Submit and note the filing number. Track the case on the portal, where hearing dates and orders appear, and attend hearings in person or by video where the commission allows.

What the complaint should contain

• Your name, address and contact details, and the full name and address of each opposite party, including the branch or office you dealt with.
• The goods or service bought, the date, and the amount paid.
• A clear account of the deficiency or defect, with dates of your complaints and the responses received.
• The basis for choosing this commission (amount paid and place of filing).
• A statement that the complaint is within two years, or an application for condonation explaining the delay.
• The specific reliefs sought, and a list of the documents attached.

Legal Drive's deficiency in service complaint follows this structure. For defective goods or mixed cases, the general consumer complaint format works better.

Time limits and what happens after filing

Section 69(1) says a commission shall not admit a complaint unless it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action arose. A late complaint can still be heard if you show sufficient cause and the commission records its reasons for condoning the delay.

• Admission: the commission ordinarily decides admissibility within 21 days of filing, and if it does not, the complaint is deemed admitted (Section 36).
• Notice: the opposite party is given 30 days, extendable by up to 15 days, to file its version (Section 38).
• Decision: the Act asks commissions to try to decide within three months of notice to the opposite party, or five months if goods need testing. In practice many cases take longer.
• Mediation: the commission may refer the dispute to mediation if both sides consent (Section 37).

If you win and the trader does not pay, the order is enforced like a civil court decree under Section 71, and wilful non-compliance is punishable under Section 72. If the case is complex or the other side is a large company with lawyers, you can consult a consumer protection lawyer, or read questions other consumers have asked about similar disputes.