A Man Sued a Movie Theater for an Ad That Was Too Long and Won the Case (2 photos)

A man named Abhishek missed his scheduled events due to a delayed show, causing him losses that he feels are impossible to quantify in monetary terms.





A consumer court in India has ruled in favour of a 30-year-old man named Abhishek, who had filed a case against major cinema chain PVR INOX and ticket booking platform BookMyShow. He accused the companies of wasting 25 minutes of his time by running lengthy trailers before the show began.

Abhishek had purchased three tickets for a Bollywood film that was scheduled to start at 4:05 pm. However, the film did not start until 4:30 pm, which the plaintiff said disrupted his plans and caused him mental anguish. He claimed that the film was supposed to end at 6:30 pm, after which he had to return to work. Due to the late screening, he was unable to attend his scheduled events and suffered losses that he said were not quantifiable.

The court ordered PVR INOX to pay a fine of Rs 100,000 (around $1,150), an additional Rs 50,000 ($575) in damages, and Rs 10,000 ($115) in legal costs.

"In the new era, time is considered money, and no one has the right to profit from someone else's time and money," the court ruling said.



The court also noted that 25-30 minutes of waiting without a choice is a significant inconvenience for viewers with a busy schedule.

However, ticket trading platform BookMyShow was released from liability, as the court did not find sufficient grounds to bring claims against it. In their defense, cinemas said they are obliged to show public service announcements mandated by the government, and also to take into account possible delays for viewers who are late for the show.

The court, however, found that showing commercial advertisements beyond the set time was an unfair practice that violated consumer rights.