A Kerala district consumer forum has directed the Plaza Theatre in Perinthalmanna to pay a fine of Rs 50,000 for preventing viewers from watching a movie in its entirety, despite having booked seats and arrived on time.
This decision by the Malappuram District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission stems from a joint complaint filed by residents of Elamkulam.
The complainants, Sarath, Anand, Sujeesh, Vijesh, and Nikhil, lodged their grievance after attempting to watch the Tamil movie 'Ponniyin Selvan: 2' on April 30, 2023. Despite reaching the theater at 6.45 PM, they were not allowed entry until 7.10 PM, with the movie already in progress for 10 minutes.
According to the complainants, the theater management cited cleaning work as the reason for the delay, leading to their late entry. They claimed to have been deliberately misled by the theater authorities.
In response, the theater argued that the complainants arrived at 7.05 PM and were not intentionally denied entry. However, the consumer forum found lapses in the theater's scheduling and cleaning practices.
"Theater authorities failed to fix the timings for the show and subsequent cleaning. The viewers have the right to enter the theater conveniently and watch the movie in its entirety in a clean environment," stated the bench comprising President K Mohandas and members Preeti Sivaraman and C V Muhammad Ismail.
As a result, the forum ordered the Plaza Theatre to compensate the five complainants with Rs 50,000, along with an additional Rs 10,000 awarded as costs.