SATYAM CINEPLEXES Vs. MARK PAUL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN spite of having warned the providers of service like the appellants who have charged Rs. 40 for a water bottle of Rs. 12 that for charging the price more than the MRP they will be visited with heavy punitive damages, the appellant has still not stopped this practice. Vide impugned order dated 28.7.2005 District Forum has directed it to pay Rs. 5,000 as compensation to the respondent and Rs. 1,000 as cost of litigation and to pay Rs. 50,000 to be deposited in the Consumer Welfare Fund (Legal Aid) with SBI, New Delhi for the welfare and benefit of the consumers who are not in a position to engage the service of lawyers and are pitted against rich and mighty traders.

(2.) THROUGH this appeal the impugned order has been assailed firstly on the ground that the respondent -consumer was a literate person and thus he knew that the article being sold at the Satyam Cineplexes, where he had gone to see the movie with his family would be of much higher price than the MRP as the price charged by the respondent was not only for water but for other services provided in the Satyam Cineplexes. In recently decided case by this Commission Nirula Corner Pvt. Ltd. and Another v. Sh. Amit Kumar, Appeal No. 2005, which was widely publicised in the National dailies we have discussed each and every aspect of the arguments being raised by such Cineplexes and restaurants particularly the plea that the service or sale of the packed commodity is not the core activity as the sale for such item is one of the services rendered by the Cineplex, hotels and restaurants and also that the provisions of Weights and Measures Act are not applicable. Some of the observations made by us in this regard are as under:

(3.) WE do not find any reason whatsoever to show any kind of indulgence for such an unscrupulous providers of service in spite of having warned it in the past not to indulge in such unfair trader practice and dismiss the appeal.