Miraj Bioscope Cinema in Jodhpur and Miraj Entertainment were recently asked by the district consumer court to pay a penalty of Rs. 75,000 for forcing four patrons to buy popcorn along with their tickets. The popcorn packet cost each patron Rs. 50. District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission chairman Dr. Shyam Sunder Latta and member Balvir Khudkhudiya accepted the complaint and ordered the two defendants to pay within 2 months Rs. 20,000 by way of compensation to the four complainants, Rs. 5,000 towards complaint fee and Rs. 200 being the price of the four packets of popcorn forcibly sold to them. They also ordered the two defendants to deposit Rs. 50,000 in the Consumer Welfare Fund for profiteering from forcibly selling popcorn to patrons. They also asked the zilla collector to investigate the matter.
The complaint was filed by Anil Bhandari, Urmila Bhandari, Ranju Jain and Shantichand Patwa. In the complaint, they alleged that on May 24, 2018, they bought tickets of Rs. 140 each for watching a movie, making the payment by Paytm. On reaching the cinema, they were informed that the price of each ticket was Rs. 90 while Rs. 50 was towards popcorn. They were handed over popcorn worth just Rs. 5 or 10 in cardboard boxes. They alleged that the cinema was indulging in unfair trade practice and was found lacking in service to patrons.
The cinema argued that it could not be held responsible for what Paytm had charged the patrons. It also submitted that the complaint should be dismissed as Paytm had not been made a party in the complaint.
The District Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission said that the complainants were forced to buy popcorn at an exorbitantly high price and did not do so out of choice. It also added that the cinema could not absolve itself of the liability as Paytm was just an agent for the cinema and was charging what the cinema had desired. It also held that after charging Rs. 50, popcorn worth Rs. 5 was being given to clients. It said that the cinema was guilty of unfair trade practice and poor service by giving popcorn worth Rs. 5 in spite of charging Rs. 50, that too forcibly.
The Commission asked the defendants to refund the Rs. 200 (price of four popcorn packets) and pay the complainants Rs. 20,000 by way of compensation, and another Rs. 5,000 towards complaint fee. It also ordered that the cinema and the company pay Rs. 50,000 to the Consumer Welfare Fund for making disproportionate profits by forcing patrons to buy popcorn along with tickets. It ordered a copy of the order to be sent to the district collector for necessary investigation.