A B P PVT LTD Vs. V SUNDARAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and order dated 16.7.2003 passed by the Calcutta Unit-I District Consumer Forum in C. D. F. Case No.380/2001. By this judgment the Forum allowed the complaint on contest and directed the O. P. (the present appellant) to pay a sum of Rs.5,000/- as compensation to the complainants (the present respondents) within 10 days from the date of order and a further sum of Rs.500/- as litigation cost. The Forum also directed the O. P. to discontinue forthwith the unfair trade practice which it had been adopting in the matter of publication and circulation of the newspaper in question namely 'the Telegraph' outside West Bengal. It was also directed by the Forum that the O. P. should pay interest @ 10% per annum on the total sum awarded namely Rs.5,500/- for the period from the date of order till the date of actual payment, if it was not paid within the specified time.

(2.) The case of the complainants was in short as follows. The complainants were potential users and readers of the newspaper 'the Telegraph' published by the O. P. namely the Anandabazar Patrika Ltd. On 7.6.2001 the complainants purchased a Kolkata edition of the said newspaper from a local vendor at Kolkata (vide Annexure A ). On the next date, that is, 8.6.2001 when the complainants were at Khurdah Road Railway Station while making a journey in train purchased that newspaper that is "the Telegraph" of that date, that is, 8.6.2001 from a vendor at that railway station on payment of Rs.1.50 as the price of that newspaper which contained 28 pages (vide Annexure B ). The complainants being anxious to know the result of the test cricket match which was then going on at Eden Gardens amongst other important news events opened the relevant page and found to their surprise that the news was actually of the previous date that is 7th June, which they had already gone through on the last day in The Telegraph dated 7th June, except one alteration made in the second page thereof with cut and paste method containing the flight schedules and train timings to and from various places. Thus this newspaper was practically an old newspaper of the previous day redated on the front page as "friday 8th June, 2001" and this was deliberately designed to dishonestly induce readers to purchase the newspaper which in reality was newspaper of the previous day. Such deception is further evident from page 20 of that newspaper where the date "7th June, 2001. Thursday" was conspicuously printed. Moreover this edition of the newspaper did not contain a good number of features which were used to be displayed along with news items generally. Thus the opposite party knowingly and intentionally cheated the public at large by inducing the members of such public who were interested in reading newspaper to purchase such editions of the newspapers which were practically back-dated and did not contain the news of the day.

(3.) Hence the complainants filed this complaint for an order awarding compensation to the tune of Rs.5,000/- and litigation cost to the extent of Rs.500/-, if not more, and also for an order directing the O. Ps. to discontinue such unfair trade practice.