May 19: SETTLED IN COURT
- Posted by CERC India
- Posted in may19
Hospital to pay for deceptive stent advt
Brahm Shakti Sanjivani Hospital in Haryana had advertised in the local newspapers that the cost of an angioplasty with one stent would be Rs. 1.25 lakh. Surya Kant suffered chest pain and underwent an angioplasty at the hospital with one stent. The hospital charged him Rs. 2.3 lakh. He filed a complaint before the District Forum.
The hospital contended that the angioplasty had cost more in this case as it was an emergency procedure and the patient had opted for a costlier stent. The Forum directed the hospital to refund Rs. 1.05 lakh along with interest. The hospital appealed to the Haryana State Commission which set aside the Forum’s order and dismissed the complaint. Kant approached the National Commission.Â
Verdict
The National Commission felt that the advertisement was misleading as it did not give any details. Moreover, the stent used was Rs 1.02 lakh costlier than a regular one. Such a huge variation in price constituted exploitation of hapless patients. It restored the Forum’s judgement. In addition, the hospital had to pay fine of Rs. 1 lakh for unfair trade practice, half of which would go to Kant and the other half to Consumer Legal Aid. The hospital was ordered to discontinue the deceptive advt.
Point of law
A hospital cannot charge in excess of the price declared in an advertisement.
[Source: The order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi dated 13 November 2018 on Revision Petition No. 1776 of 2017]Â
Indigo to pay compensation for leaving passengers behind  Â
Kalpana Rani Debbarma, her husband and her two minor sons were travelling from Kolkata to Agartala by Indigo in 2017. The airline had issued boarding passes and the luggage had been loaded. Despite this, the aircraft took off leaving them behind. Moreover, apparently, the airport staff snatched away the boarding passes when she went to file a written complaint. The family had to stay in a hotel and purchase new tickets the next day.
The airline contended that numerous announcements were made but the passengers did not report at the boarding gate on time. The District Forum directed Indigo to pay Rs. 16,432 (the cost of fresh tickets incurred by the complainant), hotel expenses of Rs. 10,000, compensation of Rs. 10,000 and Rs. 5,000 towards costs. Aggrieved, both parties appealed to the State Commission.
The State Commission upheld the Forum’s order but enhanced the compensation to Rs. 20,000.  The airline approached the National Commission.
Verdict
The National Commission observed that no effort was made by the airline to provide meals, accommodation or arrange for the travel of the passengers in the next scheduled flight to Agartala. Moreover, the airline had not tried to call the passengers at the time of boarding. It also deprecated the snatching away of the boarding passes. It upheld the State Commission’s verdict.
Point of law
If passengers are left behind due to deficiency in service of an airline it has to compensate them.
[Source: The order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, New Delhi, dated 12 September 2018 on Revision Petition No. 1520-21 of 2018]
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