| Final Order / Judgement | DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION, BATHINDA C.C.No. 160 of 1-7-2019 Decided on : 1-6-2023 Rajwinder Singh Brar S/o Jasvir Singh, R/o VPO Gumti Kalan, Patti Veer, Tehsil Phul, Distt. Bathinda. ........Complainant Versus Make My Trip India Pvt. Ltd., 18th floor Tower, A, B & 19th Floor Tower, A,B,C, building no.5, DLF Cyber City, DLF Phase-3, Gurgaon, Haryana 122002, through its MD/DM/Partner/ Incharge. .......Opposite party Complaint under Section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 QUORUM Sh. Lalit Mohan Dogra, President Sh. Shivdev Singh, Member Present : For the complainant : Sh. Sarabjeet Singh, Advocate. For opposite party : Sh.Varun Bansal, Advocate. ORDER Lalit Mohan Dogra, President The complainant Rajwinder Singh (here-in-after referred to as complainant) has filed this complaint U/s 35 of Consumer Protection Act, 2019, (here-in after referred to as 'Act') before this Commission against Make My Trip India Pvt. Ltd (here-in-after referred to as opposite party). Briefly stated, the case of the complainant is that complainant booked two Air Tickets for Air Vistara Airline from Delhi to Port Blair and back from Port Blair to Delhi from opposite partt's site www.makemytrip.com on 5.2.2019 and paid an amount of Rs.27,214/- through Debit card. There was problem to the wife of complainant due to pregnancy, so on 8.2.2019 complainant made request to cancel the ticket and the opposite party assured the complainant that he would refund the amount of Rs.27,214/- to the complainant as early as possible. The opposite party refunded the half payment i.e. one side payment to the complainant, but they have not paid remaining amount to the. complainant so far. It is alleged that the complainant many times requested the opposite party and also made many emails to the opposite party and Air Vistara and Air Vistara replied the emails on dated 28.3.2019, and directed the complainant to contact his travel agent to the claim the amount, and complainant requested the opposite party, but despite the repeated requests, the opposite party is humiliating the complainant without any reason and delaying the payment on one or the other pretext to harass complainant. It is further alleged that the complainant also issued the notice to the opposite party on 7.5.2019, through his counsel sh. Sarbajit Singh Advocate, and in reply to the notice the opposite party demanded some documents, which were emailed on dated 16.5.2019 to the opposite party, but so far the opposite party did not return the amount to the complainant. There is gross deficiency in services of opposite party and further the opposite party has adopted unfair trade practices against the complainant. On this backdrop of facts, the complainant has prayed for directions to the opposite party to refund the total remaining amount alongwith interest and Rs.2 lac as compensation on account of mental agony, botheration, harassment and Rs.11,000/- as litigation expenses. Upon notice, opposite party appeared through counsel and contested the complaint by filing written reply raising legal objections that at the outset, it is submitted that each and every statement, contentions and allegations contained in the complaint unless specifically admitted hereinafter, are denied in their entirety. Further, it is submitted that the Complainant has not approached this Hon'ble Forum with bonafide intents and an evident attempt has been made to gain undue advantage by misrepresenting and distorting the material facts and circumstances herein. Further, the complainant cannot seek any relief from the opposite party as the complaint is mala fide, false, frivolous and misconceived and hence lacks merit. The complainant is not entitled to claim any equities from the Opposite Party by way of the present Complaint. The present complaint, filed by the Complainant, is absolutely frivolous, misconceived and mala fide. Hence, it is an abuse of the process of law and this Forum. The complainant has failed to approach before this Hon'ble Forum with clean hands, bona fide intents and on top of that has twisted and suppressed the material facts and circumstance of the present complaint. Hence, as such guilty of suppresio veri and suggestion falsi. The present complaint filed by the complainant is with malafide intentions with a view to force the opposite party to accede to the whims and comforts of the complainant. It is further pleaded that opposite party is a consumer centric company, which is managed through online web portal i.e. www.makemytrip.com and mobile application namely, “Make My Trip”. The answering opposite party,provide all th travel related unblemished services and information to its customers but not limited to air ticketing, railways ticketing, bus ticketing, hotel booking at very competitive prices. The opposite party merely acts as a facilitator for booking the confirmed air tickets/ hotel bookings on behalf of its customers with the concerned service providers. The opposite party,upon the request received from its customer forwards the same to the concerned Airlines/service providers through softwares embedded on its web portal. Upon receiving the confirmation from concerned service providers the Booking ID is generated and confirmed booking/tickets is shared with the customers. It is further pleaded that to understand the issue in hand , the answering opposite party wil brief out the booking made by the complainant herein through the answering opposite party. a. Booking ID.: NF72697161730455 b. Booking Date: 05 February, 2019 / 8:38AM c. Travel Amount: INR 27,214/- Passengers: a. Rajwinder Singh Brar b. Ramandeep Kaur Brar Onwards Sector: Delhi (DEL) – Plot Blair (IXZ) a. Travel Date: 24 Feb, 2019 b. Vistara Airlines c. Departure: 07:45 Hours d. Arrival : 13.05 Hours Return Sector: e. Port Blair (IXZ) – Delhi (DEL) f. Travel Date: 27th Feb, 2019 g. Indigo Airlines h. Departure: 0915 Hours i. Arrival: 15:35 It is further pleaded that opposite party being the facilitator between the concerned service provider and the intended traveler was under the obligation to provide the confirmed booking/ticket to its customers. Once the tickets are confirmed by the concerned service providers, the same is shared with the intended traveler. Once the confirmed ticket is issued to the customer, the answering opposite party is discharged from its obligations and duties qua the said booking. It is further pleaded that on the bare perusal of the complaint it is learnt that the complainant is being aggrieved by non-processing of the complete refund for the booking in the event of cancellation of the confirmed tickets. At the time of booking of the tickets, the intended traveler duly accepted the terms and conditions of the user Agreement. Furthermore, the intended traveler at the time of booking the ticket, also duly consents and adheres to the cancellation policy of the answering Opposite Party as well as the airlines and thereafter duly accepting and adhering to the terms and condition of the cancellation policy as stipulated in the User Agreement and the itinerary shared with the intended traveler, the intended traveler makes the booking with the answering Opposite Party by making the payment towards the same. Therefore any alteration, cancellation or modification in the booking can be done as per the policy of the Opposite Party and same is duly consented by the Complainant at the time of booking of the tickets. In the present case, admittedly, the answering OP has duly refunded the 50 % amount of the one ticket to the Complainant as per the cancellation policy, hence the present complaint is liable to be dismissed. at this threshold. It is further pleaded that once the confirmed ticket is booked by the intended traveler and tickets of the same are shared with the intended traveler, the answering Opposite Party is discharged from its obligations qua the said bookings. In case of any request for the cancellation or rescheduling of the tickets or any bookings by the intended traveler, the same shall be forwarded to the concerned Airlines, and the Concerned Airlines refund or reschedule the tickets or bookings in lieu of charges duly agreed upon at the time of making the bookings. In addition to the User Agreement, the intended traveler is also governed by the cancellation and refund policy of the concerned Airlines, which prevails over the terms and conditions of the answering Opposite Party in case of any conflict. Further, upon request of the Complainant to cancel the tickets, the answering OP have duly informed the Complainant that the refund shall be subject to the cancellation charges as per the policy of the Airlines. The Complainant consented to the same and requested the answering OP, to cancel the tickets. Further, the Complainant was also requested to share the medical documents or certificate of the Doctor, wherein the doctor has advised his wife not to fly. The Complainant miserably failed to provide the said documents to the answering OP as well as to the concerned Airlines i.e. Vistas Airlines, accordingly, the Vistas Airlines rejected the complete refund, vide mail 13.03.2019, on the ground that as per the reports submitted, and with calculation by 24.02.3019, pregnancy would be of 7 Weeks and I day and in such cases, the Air Travel can be undertaken till 28 weeks without any need to fit to fly certificate. It is further pleaded that the complainant has miserably failed to disclose any cause of action, against the answering Opposite Party in the present complaint. The complainant has duly admitted the fact the answering Opposite Party has provided the confirmed tickets of the flights from Delhi to Port Blair and Port Blair to Delhi. On the perusal of the complaint it is learnt that the sole grievance of the complainant herein is for the refund of the amount paid towards the bookings. It is pertinent to mention here that once the confirmed tickets are shared, the answering Opposite Party is discharged from all the obligations and liabilities qua the said bookings. However, as per the terms and conditions duly agreed upon by the Complainant at the time of booking the tickets, the answering Opposite Party has already refunded the amount along with the Rs. 2,000/- as MMT cash as a gesture of goodwill in the account of the Complainant as received from the Airline. Hence, by no stretch of the imagination, any cause of action arose qua the answering Opposite Party or any deficient in service is attributable to the answering Opposite Party. Further, the malafide of the Complainant is evident from the fact that he miserably failed to make the Vistara Airlines as the party to the present Complaint, despite having the grievance against it. It is further pleaded that this Forum has no territorial jurisdiction to entertain the present Complaint. On the bare perusal of the complaint, it is learnt that the Complainant has filed the present complaint seeking the refund of the amount paid towards the booking of the Air tickets from Delhi to Port Blair. Therefore, the Hon'ble Courts at New Delhi or Port Blair have the territorial jurisdiction to try and adjudicate upon the present complaint. Furthermore, the answering Opposite Party also works for gain at New Delhi. Hence, the present complaint deserves dismissal at threshold for want of territorial jurisdiction under Section 11 of the Consumer Protection Act. It is further pleaded that the complainant miserably failed to make out any case against the answering Opposite Party for the alleged deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. The Complainant himself has admitted the fact that the answering Opposite Party has duly issued the confirmed tickets to the Complainant, for which the Complainant availed the services of the answering Opposite Party. After, the issuance of the confirmed tickets, the answering Opposite Party is discharged from its duties and obligations qua the Complainant. In order to derive undue monetary gains, the Complainant has impleaded the answering Opposite Party as a party to the present complaint, despite the fact that the representatives of the answering Opposite Party, time and again duly assisted the Complainant in explaining the procedure and coordinating for the refund of the amount from the concerned Airlines. It is further pleaded that as per the User Agreement duly entered into between the answering Opposite Party and the complainant as the time of making the said bookings, he has specifically agreed to the terms set out under the 'Cancellation Policy' clause; the charges for the cancellation or rescheduling of the tickets, as informed at the time of booking and through booking voucher. The same was duly consented and agreed upon by the complainant. The complainant was well aware of the cancellation policy as the same was duly mentioned in the tickets issued by the answering opposite parties to the Complainant. Therefore, the answering Opposite Party after making the aforesaid deductions has refunded the balance amount of Rs. 19,406/40 to the Complainant and same is duly acknowledged by the Complainant in the present complaint. Further, the Opposite Party, being the consumer-centric company that it is, has also awarded the Complainant an amount of Rs. 2000/- in his Make My Trip Wallet which can be utilized in future bookings with the answering opposite party. It is further pleaded that the complainant with malafide intent and in order to derive undue monetary benefits from the answering opposite party, failed to make the concerned Airlines as party to the present complaint. The Complainant was well aware of the cancellation policy of the Airlines and has also contacted the Airlines directly, and as Per the averments made in the complaint, the concerned Airlines directed the Complainant to contact the answering opposite party. The answering opposite party on behalf of the Complainant requested the concerned Airlines to make the complete refund of the tickets. However, the Vistara Airlines, vide mail dated 13.03.2019, rejected the claim of the Complainant on the ground that the Complainant has failed to provide the doctor certificate. On merits, opposite party has pleaded the answering opposite party is merely a faciliator in between the concerned Airlines and the complainant. The complainant admittedly hired the services of the answering opposite party to book the confirm tickets with the concerned Airlines. Further, the complainant have also consented and adhered to terms and conditions of the user agreement at the time of booking the tickets. It is mentioned that at no stage during correspondence have the representative promised or assured the complainant that the amount paid by the complainant to avail the services of the Airlines through the opposite party, would be refunded. Further on each and every correspondence or conversation, the representative of the answering opposite party has assured the complainant to refund the amount of the tickets, after the approval of the concerned Airlines. In support of his complaint, the complainant has tendered into evidence his affidavit dated 1.7.2019 (Ex. C-8) and documents (Ex.C-1 to Ex.C-7). In order to rebut the evidence of complainant, the opposite party has tendered into evidence affidavit of Ekank Mehra Dated 30.7.2019 (Ex. OP-1/1) and documents (Ex.OP-1/2 to 1/5). We have heard learned counsel for the parties and gone through the file carefully. It is admitted fact that the complainant had booked ticket from opposite party by making payment of Rs.27,214/-. It is further admitted that said ticket was cancelled and opposite party has refunded amount of Rs.19,406/- to the complainant, meaning thereby that only amount of Rs.7808/- is required to be refunded to the complainant. Opposite party has further taken plea that besides above referred refund, it had also transferred Rs.2000/- in Make My Trip Wellet of the complainant which can be utilized in future bookings. However, the complainant has refused to avail the said amount of Rs.2000/-. Accordingly, amount to be refunded in dispute is Rs.7808/-. Only plea of opposite party regarding refusal to make balance amount is that the complainant has not supplied the required medical certificate regarding pregnancy of his wife. However, this Commission is of the view that opposite party cannot force any passenger to travel in case of medical emergency. Moreover e-mail dated 23.3.2019 clearly shows that Airlines has authorized full refund to the complainant. Accordingly, present complaint is partly allowed and opposite party is directed to refund amount of Rs.7808/- to the complainant alongwith interest @9% per annum w.e.f. 8.2.2019 till realization of entire amount. No order as to cost. The compliance of this order be made within 45 days from the date of receipt of copy of this order. The complaint could not be decided within the statutory period due to heavy pendency of cases. Copy of order be sent to the parties concerned free of cost and file be consigned to the record room. Announced:- 1-6-2023 (Lalit Mohan Dogra) President (Shivdev Singh) Member
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