BENGALURU: Stating that exhibition of advertisements beyond the scheduled show time is unjust and unfair trade practice, Bengaluru Urban District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered PVR Cinemas, Orion Mall, and PVR Inox Ltd to deposit Rs 1 lakh with the Consumer Welfare Fund as punitive damages.
The commission, comprising president M Shobha and members K Anita Shivakumar and Suma Anil Kumar, passed this order on Saturday while partly allowing a complaint filed by Abhishek MR, an advocate.
The commission also directed them to pay Rs 20,000 to the complainant for causing mental agony and inconvenience and Rs 8,000 as cost of litigation.
In its order, the commission stated that like the complainant, many viewers might have faced this problem. PVR Cinemas and PVR Inox Ltd., should stop violating an order in this regard passed by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
No one has the right to gain from others time and money. One can’t sit for more than 30 minutes and watch advertisements. Watching movies gives some relaxation to the mind, it should not lead to any frustration, the commission observed.
By recording the advertisements exhibited in the theatre, the complainant has proved deficiency of service and also unfair trade practice, which are questionable by the consumer as it is his right, the commission said while turning down the contention of PVR that recording is illegal because he has only recorded the advertisements to prove his case.
The complainant booked three tickets for ‘Sam Bahadur’ on December 26, 2023, for the show commencing at 4.05 pm by paying Rs 825.66 each ticket. As per the schedule, the movie should end by 6.30 pm. He had planned to return to work by 6.30 pm after watching the movie.
Though he and his family members entered the movie hall at 4 pm, advertisements and trailers of movies were exhibited from 4.05 pm to 4.28 pm.
The movie was supposed to commence at 4.05 pm, but started at 4.30 pm after a delay of nearly 30 minutes. Because of the delay, the complainant alleged, he could not attend his work scheduled for the day.
Denying the allegations, PVR Cinemas and PVR Inox Ltd., contended that they are obligated under law to screen public service announcements (PSA) in the form of short films and documentaries to create awareness on various issues.
But the commission said the CD produced by the complainant showed that of the 17 ads, only the one with regard to women was a public service announcement. As per the government guidelines, the duration of the PSA should be 10 minutes before the film started. A perusal of the CD indicated that the allegations of the complainant were not false.