Internship Experience @ CERC, Ahmedabad: Consumer Court Visits, Drafting Legal Notice & Plaints

Name, College, Year of  Study

Anonymous, 1st Year, Gujarat National Law University

Duration of Internship

4 weeks   – 4/12/2017 to 29/12/2017

Place of Internship

Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), Nr. Zydus Hospital, SG Highway, Ahmedabad

Email: legal@cercindia.org

About the Office

CERC campus is spread over 10,000 sq. m and the organization has a staff strength of 53. CERC runs training programmes for representatives of consumer organisations in India and abroad. CERC is successfully spreading awareness amongst people since about 37 years now.

The office is big, it also has a library. A separate room is there for negotiation/meeting between aggrieved parties and the company, who are called up initially before a suit is filed. CERC also has consumer product testing lab which is one of its kind in Asia, those are certified machinery by the Govt. The office had about 6 to 10 interns

Application Procedure

I got it through the Internship Department of my college. You can also try mailing them at legal@cercindia.org

First Day

First Day was decent. We met Mr. Abhishek Awasthi the practicing Advocate of CERC NGO. We were given an office tour, the legal dept also briefed us about the kind of work CERC does. I was then given case files for reading along with Consumer Protection Act for a better understanding of consumer laws. I did my internship in December so, the day I joined, there were like 4-5 interns already about to finish their internship.

Timings

Around 11AM to 4PM

Main Tasks

Making case briefs of Supreme Court, National Tribunal – Consumer Court.

Drafting plaints, drafting legal notices. Internship experience was fruitful as I was given exposure towards key areas of Consumer laws such as sending a Legal notice which I personally enjoyed. We were also taken to the Consumer court to attend sir’s matter that came to CERC.

Bad Things

Nothing specific but sometimes you may experience a lack of work on a particular day. But that’s how an NGO is, not very lively and busy. CERC also charges for internship applications, based on your duration. It is, however, pre intimated to you. I paid ₹3500 for 4 weeks.

Stipend

No Stipend.

Accommodation

I am from Ahmedabad, so accommodation was not an issue.