Consumer Court Orders Compensation, Calls Ad Delays an ‘Unfair Trade Practice’
February 19, 2025: Bengaluru: In a landmark ruling, a Bengaluru man won a compensation of ₹65,000 after successfully suing PVR Cinemas, INOX, and BookMyShow for wasting his time by running 25-minute-long advertisements before the screening of a movie. The consumer court deemed this an unfair trade practice, reinforcing that “time is considered as money.”
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Case Details
The complainant, Abhishek MR, had booked tickets for the movie Sam Bahadur for a 4:05 PM show in 2023. Expecting the film to end by 6:30 PM, he had planned other engagements. However, the screening was delayed by nearly 30 minutes due to excessive commercials and trailers, disrupting his schedule.
In his complaint, he argued that the wrong communication of show timings was a deliberate attempt by theatres to generate revenue through advertisements, thereby wasting viewers’ time. He further claimed mental agony and financial losses due to missing his commitments.
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Consumer Court’s Verdict
The consumer court, in its February 15 ruling, ordered:
✅ ₹50,000 to be paid by PVR Cinemas and INOX for unfair trade practice.
✅ ₹5,000 for mental agony caused to the complainant.
✅ ₹10,000 for legal and incidental expenses.
✅ ₹1 lakh penalty imposed on PVR-INOX, payable to the Consumer Welfare Fund.
The court dismissed claims against BookMyShow, stating that it only facilitates ticket bookings and does not control advertisement durations.
Court’s Key Observations
🔹 “No one has the right to gain benefit out of others’ time and money.”
🔹 “Sitting idle for 25-30 minutes watching forced ads is unfair to viewers.”
🔹 “Public Service Announcements (PSAs) should be limited to 10 minutes before and during intermission.”
PVR-INOX’s Response
PVR-INOX defended itself by citing legal obligations to screen PSAs on social awareness. However, the court ruled that these should be limited to a fixed duration before the movie begins and during intermission rather than excessively delaying the film’s start.
What This Means for Moviegoers
This ruling sets a major precedent for consumers frustrated with long ad durations before movie screenings. It raises questions about cinema chains profiting from forced advertising and whether more moviegoers will legally challenge similar experiences.
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PVR INOX lawsuit, Bengaluru news, movie ads controversy, consumer rights, unfair trade practice, movie delays, cinema complaints, legal action, entertainment news, audience rights