No wonder multiplexes play smart in not allowing people to carry water bottles inside the premises and then people are forced to purchase the water-bottles at the inflated prices from their in-house cafeterias.
This issue was recently raised at the national commission forum by an individual. Three residents of Agartala filed a petition against Rupasi Mutliplex for not permitting them to carry a regular water bottle, costing Rs. 20 in the cinema hall whereas the multiplex itself had no provisions of clean, portable water inside.
On this, The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) said
“If drinking water is available for purchase from the cafeteria of the cinema hall, that, in our view, would not be enough, considering the high cost of drinking water sold in cinema halls,”.
The bench also took into consideration that not every individual visiting the cinema may be in position to purchase water at the high prices, stating
“Not everyone may be in a position to afford drinking water at such huge price, which normally is many times more than the price at which such water is available in the market outside the cinema halls.”
Two of the judges, V K Jain and Dr. B C Gupta rightly quoted
“If a cinema hall, while prohibiting carrying of drinking water inside the hall, fails to make potable drinking water available to the cine-goers, it will be an act of deficiency in rendering service to them, they having paid a substantial amount for watching the movie in a comfortable and satisfying environment,”
The forum gave a verdict against the Multiplex stating
The restriction on carrying drinking water inside the cinema hall, where free potable drinking water is not provided to the cinema-goers and they are made to purchase it at a price which is substantially higher than the prevailing market price, would, in our opinion, constitute unfair trade practice within the meaning of Section 2 (r) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986
It also send warning to all the multiplex across the nation mentioning, If such a deficiency is shown, the consumer forum would be fully justified in awarding suitable compensation to the complainant.
As per the verdict, “The restriction on carrying drinking water inside the cinema hall, where free potable drinking water is not provided to the cinema-goers and they are made to purchase it at a price which is substantially higher than the prevailing market price, would, in our opinion, constitute unfair trade practice within the meaning of Section 2 (r) of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986”, it asked Rupasi Multiplex to pay Rs. 11,000 to the complaints, namely, Kamal Chaudhari, Shikha Choudhari & Mautusi Chaudhary.