CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION-VII

DISTRICT: SOUTH-WEST

GOVERNMENT OF NCT OF DELHI

FIRST FLOOR, PANDIT DEEP CHAND SHARMA SAHKAR BHAWAN

CASE NO.CC/53/16

          Date of Institution:-   08.02.2016

          Order Reserved on:- 03.05.2024

          Date of Decision:-     14.08.2024

IN THE MATTER OF:

HimanshuKundoo,

S/o ShriParmod Kumar,

167, Surya Niketan, Vikas Marg,

Delhi - 110092

                                                                        .….. Complainant

VERSUS

M/s Spicejet Ltd.

Cargo Complex, Terminal 1-B,

Indira Gandhi International Airport,

Domestic Terminal,

New Delhi –110037.…..Opposite Party

Per Dr. Harshali Kaur, Member

1. The complainant has filed the present Consumer complaint before this Commission under section 12 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, alleging deficiency in service and unfair trade practice on the part of the OP seeking refund and compensation for the deficient service provided by the OP.

2. Briefly, the facts of this case are that the complainant booked a ticketon the OP airline for 26.01.2015 from New Delhi to Bangalore via OP flight No.SG-501. He paid Rs.8,299/- via his credit card on 17.09.2014, almost 4½ months prior to the journey.
3. The complainant states he had no issue regarding the Bangalore to Delhi Sector. However, on the return journey on 26.01.2015, the OP unilaterally cancelled his ticket without providing an alternative ticket or refunding the amount paid by him.Annexure-C1 is the copy of the ticket annexed by the complainant with his complaint.

4. The complainant states that on 29.12.2014, his booking was cancelled via SMS, wherein the OP gave the reason for cancellation of his return ticket as "operational reasons". The complainant tried to contact the OP repeatedly for an alternative ticket, but all his efforts were in vain. Thus, he had to book another ticket with another airline at a higher price.

5. The complainant lodged a complaint towards the deficient service with the OP on 13.01.2015. He was informed via e-mail sent by the OP that, as per their records, the complainant had travelled both ways, which was false. Annexure-C-2 (Colly) are the copies of his e-mails dated 13.01.2015 and the reply by the OP.

6. The complainant contacted the OP on 14.01.2015 and spoke to one Mr. Himanshu, who assured the complainant that he could refund the fare of his return ticket to Rs.3100/-only, out of the Rs.4150/- that the complainant had paid for his ticket from Bangalore to Delhi sector.

7. When the complainant did not get any further response/refund of the booking amount, the complainant issued a legal notice to the OP on 22.01.2015 to no avail (Annexure-C-3). Hence, the complainant filed the present complaint before this Forum seeking directions to the OP to refund the booking amount of Rs.4,150/- with interest @18% p.a. and Rs.50,000/- towards compensation.

8. On notice, the OP filed their reply stating therein that the complainant was informed regarding the cancellation of the flight well in advance, one month before the date of travel, 29.12.2014, as also admitted by the complainant in his complaint. The complainant had to travel from Delhi to Bangalore on 23.01.2015 and return on 26.01.2015, and the complainant was informed one month before his date of travel on 29.12.2014; hence, he suffered no loss. He clearly chose to travel on 23.01.2015 of his own will after accepting the terms and conditions of the OP Airline.

9. Further, only a refund of ticket cost is payable to the affected passenger as per the terms of the Carriage, and the OP has an unequivocal right to change the schedule or cancel the commencement of the flight. The flight had to be cancelled due to operational reasons. Due intimation about said cancellation was given to DGCA, the competent authority, via a letter.Pursuant to the aforementioned intimation to DGCA, the OP intimated all the passengers well before the departure date of their respective flight, including the complainant, subject to the approval of DGCA. Annexure-R-1 is the copy of the terms of Carriage annexed with the reply filed by the OP. Hence, the complaint deserves dismissal.

10. The complainant filed his rejoinder and affidavit in evidence, reiterating the averments made in the complaint. Thereafter, several opportunities were given to the OP to file their affidavit to be read in evidence. But the OP chose not to file their testimony for reasons best known to them. The OP was, therefore,proceeded ex-parte vide order dated 20.03.2017. The complainant filed his written arguments. The complainant did not appear to address oral final arguments, and hence, after hearing the AR of the OP, who is ex-parte, we gave the complainant time to address arguments and reserved the order due to the long pendency of this complaint based on material on record.

11. We have carefully perused the material on record and considered the present complaint's facts and circumstances. We find that the complainant booked a ticket on 17.09.2014 with the OP Airline Flight journey from New Delhi to Bangalore and back to Delhi on 26.01.2015.

12. On 29.12.2014, the complainant received an SMS message from the OP cancelling his return flight on 26.01.2015 due to operational reasons. The complainant was left to book a new ticket at a higher price on his own as the OP did not make any arrangements to provide him an alternative flight or even refund the amount paid for the Bangalore to New Delhi sector. Hence, the complaint.

13. The OP, though ex-parte, in their reply, stated that the complainant was informed regarding the cancellation of his flight one month prior to his date of departure as per the terms of Carriage and that they are well within the tenants of law to do this. Further, as per the terms agreed upon between the complainant and the OP when he purchased the OP airline ticket, the OP can only offer the ticket refund in case of justified cancellation as is in the knowledge and approval of the competent authority, i.e. DGCA.

14. In our view, the OP duly informed the complainant aboutcancelling his Bangalore to New Delhi flight on 29.12.2014,i.e., approximately one month before the complainant had to travel on 26.01.2015. However, the OP has not filed any evidence in the form of e-mail or any communication to show that they tried to refund the complainant's paid amount to him. No documentary proof has been annexed by the OP, who is ex-parte, to clarify what steps they took to refund the money the complainant had paid to the OP for his Bangalore to New Delhi flight, even after deduction.

15. Simply sending the intimation to the passenger about the cancellation of a flight due to their internal operation issues without following up with them regarding a refund of their money paid well in advance is, in our view, tantamount to deficiency in service.

16. Hence, allowing the complaint, we direct the OP to refund the amount of Rs.4,150/- for the cancelled flight along with interest @9% p.a. from the date of filing the present case, i.e. 08.02.2016, till realisation. The OP shall also pay Rs.5,000/- towards compensationfor mental agony and harassmentthe complainant would undoubtedly have undergone. No other order as to cost as interest granted in the present case shall adequately meet with the ends of justice.

• A copy of this order is to be sent to all the parties as per rule.
• File be consigned to record room.
• Announced in the open court on 14.08.2024.