Le Meridian Jaipur Ordered To Pay Rs. 25lakhs To Army Veteran As Refund For Cancellation Of Booking For Daughter's Wedding
The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission-1, Lucknow has directed Hotel Le Meridian, Jaipur to pay the complainant, Dr. Colonel Ajay Bahadur, an amount of Rs. 25,00,000/- with interest at 9% per annum from the date of payment made by the complainant to the date of judgment within 45 days from the date of Judgment.Dr. Colonel Ajay Bahadur (Complainant), a veteran army officer, through...
The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission-1, Lucknow has directed Hotel Le Meridian, Jaipur to pay the complainant, Dr. Colonel Ajay Bahadur, an amount of Rs. 25,00,000/- with interest at 9% per annum from the date of payment made by the complainant to the date of judgment within 45 days from the date of Judgment.
Dr. Colonel Ajay Bahadur (Complainant), a veteran army officer, through his agent had entered into an agreement with Hotel Le Meridien, Jaipur for the wedding function of his daughter which was to take place in November 2021. The total booking cost was Rs. 67,90,900/- out of which advance payment of Rs. 30,00,000/- was paid to the hotel.
Due to Covid-19 pandemic, death of the Complainant's father and other personal reasons, the complainant was compelled to cancel his daughter's marriage. At the time of booking, the Hotel had specifically assured the complainant that 100% booking/ advance amount shall be refunded by it in the event of cancellation, provided information regarding cancellation of the booking and request for refund is made atleast 90 days prior to the date of wedding.
The complainant is said to have telephonically informed the Hotel, about 5 months prior to the date of wedding, about the cancellation of the wedding. However, Le Meridian refused to refund the amount paid by the complainant and forfeited the same.
Aggrieved by the forfeiture of the deposit, complainant filed a consumer complaint in Lucknow. Le Meridian pleaded that as per the terms and conditions, the Hotel was justified in forfeiting the entire amount deposited by the complainant. It was pleaded that the wedding was not cancelled due to Covid-19 but for other reasons. Further, the Hotel pleaded that since no services of the hotel were availed by the complainant, the complaint could not be entertained.
The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission-1, Lucknow held that Rs. 14 lakhs were deposited by the agent of the complainant and the rest Rs. 16 lakhs were deposited by the complainant himself from his residence at Lucknow. Accordingly, Dr. Colonel Ajay Bahadur was a consumer of Le Meridian and the Commission had the jurisdiction to entertain the complaint.
The Commission further observed that since the grandmother of the bride had passed away, as per Hindu customs no wedding can take place for a year after a death in the family.
The Court observed that there was no evidence on record to show that any other wedding had taken place on those dates by which hotel had earned money. Applying the principle of equity, the Commission directed Hotel Le Meridian, Jaipur to pay the aggrieved complainant Dr. Colonel Ajay Bahadur an amount of Rs. 25,00,000/- with interest at 9% per annum from the date of payment made by the complainant to the date of judgment within 45 days from the date of Judgment.
Counsel for Complainant: Akhand Vikram Singh
Counsel for Respondent: Akhilesh Kumar