20. Place of Sitting and other matters relating to State Commission.
(1)The office of the State Commission shall be located at the capital of the State.(2)The working days and the office hours of the State Commission shall be the same as that of State Government.(3)Sittings of the State Commission, as and when necessary, shall be convened by the Chairperson.(4)No Act of proceedings of the State Commission shall be invalid by reason only of the existence of any vacancy among its members or any defect in its constitution thereof. The State Government shall appoint/depute such staff, as may be necessary to assist the State Commission in its work and perform such other functions as are provided under the Act.(5)If during the proceedings conducted under subsection 6 of section 16 of the Act, the State Commission fixes a date for hearing of the parties, it shall be obligatory on the complainant and opposite party or his authorized agent who appear before the State Commission on such date of hearing or any other date to which hearing could be adjourned. Where the complainant or his authorized agent fails to appear before the State Commission on such day, the State Commission may in its discretion either dismiss the complaint for default or decide it on merits. Where the opposite party or its authorized agent fails to appear on the day of hearing, the State Commission may decide the complaint ex-parte.(6)A complaint presented before the State Commission shall be decided within 90 days from the date of notice received by the opposite party.(7)Where the opposite party admits the allegations made the complainant, the State Commission shall decide the complaint on the basis of merit of the case and documents present before it.(8)Order of the State Commission shall be signed and dated by the members of the State Commission constituting the bench and shall be communicated to the parties free of charge.
