Supreme Court Drastically Reduces Compensation in Luxury Salon Haircut Case
In a landmark consumer rights judgment, the Supreme Court of India has significantly reduced the compensation awarded to a woman for a "faulty haircut" received at a luxury hotel salon. The apex court slashed the amount from an astonishing Rs 2 crore to Rs 25 lakh, delivering a crucial ruling that damages in consumer disputes must be firmly supported by concrete material evidence and cannot be based on mere claims or whims.
Bench Emphasizes Evidence Over Presumption
A bench comprising Justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan, in their judgment delivered on February 6, unequivocally stated that while "deficiency in service" had been clearly established in this case, compensation awards cannot stem from the "mere asking" or the "whims and fancies" of the complainant. Justice Bindal, who authored the detailed 34-page judgment, elaborated that "The damages cannot be awarded merely on presumptions or whims and fancies of the complainant. To make out a case for award of damages, especially when the claim is to the tune of crores of rupees, some trustworthy and reliable evidence has to be led."
The Supreme Court explicitly noted that this was not a minor dispute where the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) could apply a thumb rule or rough estimation for compensation. The verdict stated, "Claim of compensation was for crores of rupees, for which some loss suffered by the respondent because of deficiency in service was required to be established. This could not be established by merely producing photocopies of the documents."
Court Criticizes Reliance on Photocopies
The Supreme Court strongly criticized the NCDRC's earlier decision to award Rs 2 crore based primarily on photocopies of documents. It rejected the consumer panel's justification that reliance on photocopies was acceptable because the complainant might not have retained originals due to trauma, stating this reasoning could not validate such an enormous financial award.
The judgment further pointed out that even if only photocopies were available, there were alternative methods to substantiate the claim that were not pursued. "Even if the Code of Civil Procedure may not be strictly applicable, the Commission has not assessed as to how the respondent suffered loss to the tune of Rs 2,00,00,000/-. General discussion in the impugned judgment may not justify the same," the verdict emphasized, highlighting the lack of proper loss assessment.
Background of the Case
The case originated in 2018 when Aashna Roy visited the salon of a luxury hotel and requested staff to trim approximately four inches (10 cm) from the ends of her hair. However, the hairdresser mistakenly cut off most of her hair, leaving only about four inches from the top, with her hair barely reaching her shoulders—a drastic deviation from her request.
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission had originally awarded the substantial compensation on grounds that Roy was an established model and that the botched haircut adversely affected her professional career. The commission had previously noted that the incident caused "severe mental breakdown and trauma" to the complainant.
However, the Supreme Court's ruling establishes a precedent that while consumer rights must be protected, extraordinary compensation demands require extraordinary evidence. The reduction from Rs 2 crore to Rs 25 lakh underscores the judiciary's insistence on proportionality and evidentiary rigor in consumer compensation cases, particularly those involving substantial monetary claims.
