Nidhi Verma, Member
1 The complainant has filed the present complaint by invoking the provisions of Consumer Protection Act under Section 12 and 13 against the opposite parties on the allegations that the complainant was issued student VISA for studying at Canada and as such for travelling she approached OP No.1 for purchasing/booking Air ticket of some Airlines and as such told this party to arrange the ticket of such an airlines that she does not suffer any trouble while travelling to Canada and also told him for arranging most economical of the tickets. The Opposite party No.1 received Rs.72,000/- on 18.12.2018 and got booked an Air Ticket having No.0983183003289 0983183003286 of Air India & United Airlines to the complainant from the opposite party No.2 for 02.1.2019 which was to leave from New Delhi for Chicago [America] and from there to Winnipeg [Canada] and was to reached there on 02.01.2019. The Opposite party No.1 assured the complainant that she will never suffer any trouble or difficulty while traveling to Canada and as such, she trusted the Opposite party No.1 in good faith. The complainant was very much embarrassed when she reached New Delhi Airport on 02.01.2019 and was told that she could not travel on the flight as per ticket issued to her by the Opposite parties as the VISA issued to the complainant was with the condition of No Stop in USA and as such wrong Air ticket was issued to the complainant by the Opposite parties inspite of the fact that these two parties deal with the business of travelling and know rules of the land. The complainant had no other option but to purchase a new Air ticket for Rs. 1,25,000/- instantly on the Airport as she had already entered the Airport and as such had to flight to Canada on huge expenses due to the negligence on the part of the Opposite parties. The complainant told whole of the incident to one Dilbagh Singh son of Dalwinder Singh resident of village Chautala who is relative of the complainant and as such, she also told Dilbag Singh to reimbursement of Rs.1,25,000/- from the Opposite parties i.e. the price paid by her for a new Air ticket for travelling to Canada. The act and conduct and negligence of the Opposite parties had caused a lot of harassment and also financial loss to the complainant for which these parties are liable to compensate to the complainant. Dilbagh Singh approached the opposite party No. 1 on behalf of the complainant for receiving Rs. 1,25,000/- i.e. the amount paid by her for purchasing a new ticket but the opposite party No. 1 refused and told Dilbag Singh that he can do nothing about it. The complainant has prayed that the present complaint may kindly be allowed by granting the following reliefs:-
- The opposite parties be directed to pay Rs. 1,25,000/- i.e. the price paid by the complainant for purchasing a new ticket.
- The opposite parties may kindly be directed to pay compensation of Rs. 50,000/- and Rs. 50,000/- as litigation expenses on account of mental and physical harassment caused to the complainant at the hands of opposite parties, on account of short come, deficient and negligent service may also be awarded to the complainant
Alongwith the main complaint, the complainant has placed on record affidavit of complainant Ex. C-1, Self attested copy of Visa Ex. C-2, Self attested copy of Air Tickets issued by Singh Tour Travels Ex. C-3, Self attested copy of the Air Ticket got issued by the complainant at the Airport Ex. C-4.
2 Notice of this complaint was sent to the opposite parties and opposite party No. 1 appeared through counsel and filed written version by interalia pleadings that the present complaint is not maintainable in the eyes of law and the same is merely an abuse of process of law. The complainant has filed the present complaint just in order to harass the Opposite party No.1 as such the same is liable to be dismissed with costs. The complainant has concealed the true and material facts from this Commission as such, she is not entitled for any relief against the opposite party No.1. The opposite party No.1 has no knowledge about the address of the complainant. The complainant did not approach the opposite party No.1 to booked the Air Tickets for going abroad. In-fact the unknown person namely Jagminder Singh visited the office of opposite party No.1 for purchasing/booking Air ticket for Airlines for going to abroad the complainant and the opposite party No.1 booked the Air Ticket given to the unknown person. The opposite party No.1 received Rs.72,000/- on 18.12.2018 and got booked an Air Ticket number mentioned in the complaint of Air India. The opposite party is running the business under the name and style of Akbar Online Booking Co. Pvt. Ltd. Plot No.17, Ist Floor, Pusa Road, Karol Bagh Delhi 110005. The opposite party No.1 insured the unknown person for confirming the ticket booking as economic class for one stay at USA and the complainant paid the amount of booking ticket for a sum of Rs.72,000/- to the opposite party and the opposite party NO.1 got issued a booking ticket to the unknown person. The complainant never visited the office of opposite party NO.1 for confirming the ticket but the unknown person has visited the office of opposite party No.1 for confirmed the ticket as mentioned above. There is no any knowledge or intimation regarding the purchase of new Air ticket for Rs.1,25,000/- of the complainant. Jagminder Singh got cancelled the Air ticket from the opposite party No.1 on 02.01.2019 at 12.20 AM and the opposite party No.1 refunded the amount of Rs.31,400/- to the unknown person namely Jagminder Singh in his bank account which clearly shows in the Account Statement i.e. HDFC Bank Branch Chohla Sahib bearing Account No.5010011153535686. The complainant has filed the present complaint against the opposite party NO.1 just in order to harass the opposite party No.1 unnecessarily. The complaint is liable to be dismissed with costs. The opposite party No. 1 has denied the other contents of the complaint and prayed for dismissal of the same. Alongwith the written version, the opposite party No. 1 has placed on record affidavit of opposite party No. 1 Ex. OP1/1, self attested copy of cancel charges sheet Ex. OP1/2, self attested copy of Refund Account statement Ex. OP1/3.
3 The opposite party No. 2 appeared through counsel and filed written version by interalia pleadings that the present complaint does not lie and it is not maintainable against the opposite party no. 2. It is malafide one and has been filed against the opposite party No. 2 just to harass, humiliate and pressurize the officers of the opposite party No. 2 and to drag them in to frivolous litigation, otherwise, there is no merit in this complaint. Hence, liable to be dismissed. The complaint is bad for misjoinder of parties. The opposite party No. 2 is not necessary party in this complaint. No cause of action has arisen to the complainant to file this complaint against Opposite Party No.2. There is no deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party No.2 towards the complainant in any manner and moreover, the complainant is not the 'consumer' qua the opp. party No.2. As such, the opposite party No.2 cannot be held liable for any kind of compensation or any deficiency in service in any manner. The complainant has come to the Commission with un-clean hands and she has concealed/suppressed the material facts from this Commission, therefore, she is not entitled to any of the reliefs claimed by her, against the opposite party No.2 and as such, this complaint merits dismissal with costs. The complainant got booked her ticket through opposite party No. 1 and the opposite party No.1 got it booked through some agent at Mumbai .The opposite party No. 1 is not authorized agent of the opposite party No.2. She had got her ticket booked through opposite party No.1 of her own accord, wish and as such, the opposite party No.2 is not at all responsible for the booking of said ticket as opposite party No.1 is not authorized agent of Air India. In such a case, when the passenger got his/her ticket booked through some travel agent, then it is the duty of that travel agent to disclose all rules & regulations, policy of the Air India to the passengers and to get/verify all the relevant documents of the passenger before booking the ticket. While booking the ticket of the complainant, the opposite party No.1 did not disclose the fact to her that as per TIM, the American Govt. requires the Visa of the passenger in case any flight stays in America, whereas, the complainant was not having Visa for America, therefore, she was not allowed to board the flight and this fact was disclosed to the complainant when she reached New Delhi Airport but the opposite party No.1 had not disclosed this fact to her while booking her ticket, therefore, the opposite party No.2 is not at all responsible for their act & conduct. The complainant had never approached any official/officer of the opposite party no.2 before booking her ticket. The tickets were not issued by the opposite party No.2. There was no negligence on the part of the opposite party No.2 and it was on the part of opposite party No.1 who had not disclosed all the rules & regulations to complainant at the time of booking her tickets. The opposite party No.2 has to act and work in accordance with the rules & regulations and policy as well as TIM of the American Govt. and they have to follow the relevant procedure & instructions. The opposite party No. 2 has denied the other contents of the complaint and prayed for dismissal of the same. Alongwith the written version, the opposite party No. 2 has placed on record affidavit of station Manager of Air India Ex. OP2/1, TIM Ex. OP2/2.
4 We have heard the Ld. counsel for complainant and have also carefully gone through the documents on the file.
5 In the present complaint , the complainant was issued student VISA for studying at Canada and as such for travelling she approached OP No. 1 for purchasing Air Ticket of some Airline . The opposite party No. 1 received Rs. 72,000 on dated 18th December 2018 and got booked an Air Ticket having number 0983183003289 0983183003286 of Air India and United Airlines to the complainant from the opposite party No 2 for dated 2nd January 2019 which was to leave from New Delhi for Chicago and from there to Winnipeg and was to reach there on 2nd Jan 2019. At New Delhi Airport on 2nd Jan 2019 , the complainant was told that she could not travel on the flight as per ticket issued to her by the OP No. 1 as the VISA issued to the complainant was with the condition of No Stop in USA and as such wrong Air Ticket was issued to the complainant by the OPs. The complainant had no other option but to purchase a new Air Ticket for Rs.1,25,000/- instantly on the Airport and as such had to flight to Canada on huge expenses due to the negligence on the part of the opposite parties. Later ,The complainant told whole of the incident to Dilbagh Singh son of Dilwinder Singh resident of village Chautala ,who is relative of the complainant and as such she also told Dilbag Singh to reimburse a sum of Rs 1,25,000 from the OP1 . Dilbag Singh approached the opposite party No. 1 on behalf of the complainant for receiving Rs 1, 25,000 but opposite party No. 1 flatly refused and told that they cannot do anything about it. OP No. 1 stated in their written version that the complainant did not approach the OP No. 1 to book the Air Tickets for going abroad. In fact the unknown person namely Jagminder Singh of the complainant visited the office of the OP 1 for booking Air Tickets for Airlines and the OP 1 booked the Air Ticket and gave that to unknown person. The OP NO.1 accept the fact of receiving Rs 72000/- for the booking of the Air Tickets but denied the fact that they ensured the complainant that she will never suffer any trouble or difficulty while traveling to Canada. Further , OP No 1 stated that Dilbagh Singh never approached to the OP No. 1 on behalf of the complainant . Instead, Jagminder Singh got cancelled the Air Ticket from the OP No.1 on dated 2nd Jan 2019 at 12.20 AM and OP No.1 refunded the amount of Rs 31,400/- to the unknown person namely Jagminder Singh in his bank account .
6 OP No 2 stated in their written version that, the complainant got booked her ticket through OP 1 and the OP1 got it booked through some agent at Mumbai. OP1 is not authorised agent of the OP2 . It is worth while to mention here that in such a case, when the passenger got his/ her ticket booked through some travel agent ,then it is the duty of that travel agent to disclose all the rules & regulations and VISA rules policy of the Air India to the passengers. The OP1 did not disclose the fact to her that as per TIM ,the American Govt. Requires the Visa of the passenger in case any flight stay in America, whereas, the complainant was not having VISA for America , therefore, she was not allowed to board the flight. Hence ,the complainant is not entitled for the reimbursement of amount from the OP2 and the matter is in between the complainant and OP1.
7 After going through the facts and circumstances of the case. The LD. Counsel for the complainant has argued that the complainant has booked the Air ticket from the OP1 and paid amount of Rs 72,000/- on dated 18.12.2018. But OP1 stated that the complainant did not approached the OP1 to book the Air Ticket for going abroad but the unknown person namely Jagminder Singh on behalf of the complainant visited the office of the OP No. 1 for booking the Air Ticket of the complainant. However, to prove their point both the parties (the complainant and the OP1) are failed to provide any evidence on record but OP1 accepted the fact that they received Rs 72000/- on dated 18.12.2018 and booked an Air Ticket of Air India &United Airlines. Further, OP1 placed on record the Email ( Ex.OP 1/2) from Akbar online booking Co.Pvt .Ltd. , in which Singh Tour ( OP1) stated that :- “Reference Number = AO182063508 New Delhi to Winnipeg CRS PNR: EWQXDE | Airline PNR : H23ZN” asked for refund amount confirmation. In reply Vipin Srivastava of Akbar Travels stated that “cancellation charges Rs 38000/” , no further information regarding refund approved , refund transferred or any other information related to the Air ticket was mentioned in the Email . Hence , we are of the considered view that the evidence placed on record as Email for refund amount , where no information regarding refund , to whom it should be paid and how , who asked for the detail nothing mentioned in the Email only reference No. of the complainant ticket and cancellation charges are there which cannot prove that the OP1 transferred the amount to the complainant .
8 Moreover, OP No. 1 placed on the record the account statement of it’s bank (Ex OP 1/ 3) in which they stated that on dated 14/01/2019 they transferred the amount of Rs 31400/- to the unknown person namely Jagminder Singh in his bank account bearing ACC no. 5010011153535686. Now if we gone through the complaint , the complainant deposited the amount of Rs 72000/- and OP1 also admitted that the received amount of Rs 72000/- on dated 18.12.2018 and as per the Email from Akbar Travels cancellation charges are Rs 38000/- which means (72000-38000 = 34000/-) or if we go through the E-ticket from Singh Tour and Travel ( Ex. C3) where net amount payable is Rs 71645 which means (71645-38000= 33,645), both the amount are contradicted with the amount paid by the OP1 on dated 14.01.2019 . Hence, we cannot consider this amount paid by the OP1 on dated 14.01.2019 was the same amount to be refunded/transferred for the ticket purchased by the complainant from New Delhi to Winnipeg. Further, OP1 has not placed any evidence related to the refund amount given to the complainant and as per the OP1 they gave the refund amount to the unknown person namely Jagminder Singh but they has not placed any evidence that can prove that Jagminder Singh is the person related to the complainant or had taken any refund amount against the reference no. AO182063508 . To prove this OP1 has not placed any affidavit of the person namely Jagminder Singh and how can OP1 transfer or refund the ticket named on Manpreet Kaur to some other person without taking any signature from the person whom they transferred the refund amount to keep in their record that they have refunded the amount for the ticket reference no.AO182063508 . However, OP1 booked the ticket for dated 02.01.2019 from New Delhi to Chicago (USA) and from there to Winnipeg ( Canada) , before booking the ticket it is the duty of the travel agent to disclose and to check all the rules& regulations and visa rules policy for the travelling process. While booking the ticket of the complainant, the OP1 did not disclose the fact to her that as per TIM , the American Govt. requires the Visa of the passenger in case any flight stays in America , the same fact was disclosed to the complainant when she reached New Delhi Airport by the OP2 . Hence, the OP1 know the facts of the Study Visa of the complainant at Canada, still booked the ticket from New Delhi to Chicago and from there to Winnipeg , as such wrong Air Ticket was issued to the complainant by the OP1 inspite of the fact that they deal with the business of traveling and well aware of the rules and regulations of traveling from one country to another. Hence from the above said facts , it is crystal clear that the OP1 is guilty of fault, imperfection and inadequacy in the quality, nature and manner of performance of service, unfair trade practice, hence is guilty of deficiency in service and because of this the complainant had no other option but to purchase a new Air Ticket for Rs 1,25000/- instantly to fly for Canada . Further, the complainant told her relative Dalwinder Singh to reimburse the amount of Rs 1,25000/- from OP1 and OP1 flatly refused and told Dilbag Singh that they can do nothing about it , but OP1 stated in their written version that,it is not correct and hence denied and being created one Jagminder Singh got cancelled the Air ticket from the OP1 on 02.01.2019 but OP1 failed to placed on record any evidence that can prove the fact that Jagminder Singh is the one who booked the ticket and is the relative of the complainant . Moreover , the amount transferred on dated 14.01.2019 is the same amount of the refund for ticket booked to the complainant from New Delhi to Chicago and from there to Winnipeg. Hence, as a result of the above discussion, we are of the considered view that the OP No. 1 is deficient while not complying with the rules and regulations of the travelling process and in regard booked the wrong ticket to the complainant . The complainant has travelled on the ticket which he purchased for Rs. 1,25,000/- as such the complainant is not entitled to the same, however, the complainant is entitled to Rs. 72,000/- which the opposite party No. 1 has wrongly booked and amount of the same is not returned to the complainant so far and while not returning the above said amount, it amounts to deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party No. 1.
9 In view of above discussion, we partly, allow the present complaint and directed the opposite party No. 1 to pay Rs. 72,000/- to the complainant. The complainant has been harassed by the opposite party No. 1 unnecessarily for a long time. The complainant is also entitled to 7,500/- as compensation on account of harassment and mental agony and Rs 5,000/- as litigation expenses. Opposite Party No. 1 is directed to comply with the order within one month from the date of receipt of copy of the order, failing which the complainant is entitled to interest @ 9% per annum, on the awarded amount, from the date of complaint till its realisation. The present complaint against the Opposite Party No. 2 is dismissed. Case could not be disposed of within the stipulated period due to heavy pendency of the cases in this Commission and due to COVID-19. Copies of the order be furnished to the parties as per rules. File is ordered to be consigned to the record room.
Announced in Open Commission.
15.02.2023
