The Lahore High Court has ruled that consumer court online shopping disputes — including non-delivery of goods and the cancellation of orders after full payment — must be heard by consumer courts. Justice Malik Waqar Haider Awan dismissed a constitutional petition that tried to keep such a claim in the ordinary civil courts.
The court said jurisdiction is fixed by the cause of action. The wording of a claim, or the size of the money sought, does not change that. Buyers cannot move an e-commerce complaint into a civil court simply by labelling compensation as “general damages”.
How the purchase turned into a lawsuit
Dr Muhammad Ahtisham Qamar bought two clothing articles worth Rs6,480 through an online platform and paid the full amount on his credit card. The goods were not delivered within the promised period. After 17 days, the sellers cancelled the order and cited the Covid-19 pandemic.
He then sought Rs2,116,480 in refund and damages. The petition history records that the purchase amount was later refunded, yet he still pursued compensation for alleged mental agony, humiliation and other losses. The sellers first denied that any online transaction had taken place. They later admitted a booking had been made, said the stock was unavailable, and said the money received had already been returned.
Why the civil courts sent the case back
A civil court returned the plaint under Order VII Rule 10 of the Code of Civil Procedure — a provision that lets a court send a case to the proper forum when it finds it lacks jurisdiction. The judge directed the buyer to approach the competent forum under the Punjab Consumer Protection Act 2005, the provincial law that sets out consumer rights and consumer courts in Punjab. An additional district judge upheld that decision on appeal.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that the claim was mainly for general damages arising from mental distress and humiliation after the cancellation. The Lahore High Court rejected that approach and agreed with the lower courts in full.
What the High Court settled
In this Lahore High Court ruling, the bench held that a dispute rooted in an online purchase remains a consumer matter even when a buyer asks for a large sum or frames the prayer as general damages. The special consumer forum exists for that kind of complaint; reframing the papers does not create a civil-court shortcut.
The judgment therefore confirms that a consumer court complaint against online shopping failures — non-delivery, late cancellation after payment, and related buyer grievances — belongs before the consumer forum created under the 2005 Act, not before an ordinary civil court used to bypass it.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Lahore High Court ne clear kiya hai ke online shopping ke jhagre consumer court mein sunay jayenge. Agar saman deliver na ho ya payment ke baad order cancel ho jaye, to pehle consumer forum hi sahi jagah hai. Sirf “general damages” likh kar civil court nahi chala ja sakta. Ordinary khareedar ke liye matlab yeh hai ke online order ka masla wahan le jayein jahan consumer cases hotay hain.
