GUWAHATI: A consumer court in Guwahati on Wednesday, July 6, imposed a fine of Rs 15,000 on the Guwahati Address hotel in the Zoo Road area of the city for charging Rs 50 for a one litre bottle of water that costs Rs 20.
The move comes after a lawyer of Guwahati Debabrat Saikia sued the hotel for overcharging the bottle of water.
When G Plus contacted Debabrat Saikia, he explained that he did not sue Guwahati Address for his personal vendetta but to create awareness for common people to understand their rights as a consumer. The lawyer said, "Most people don't even know that there is a consumer court. People get intimidated in these big establishments even when they ask for illogical prices. People just pay out of social pressure, there is a certain value to a certain commodity. These businesses exploit our silence."
In 2021, Saikia visited the Guwahati Address for a scheduled meeting and was expecting to order and have a meal but due to some emergency, he had to leave in a hurry. But out of courtesy, he ordered a bottle of water. To his dismay, he was served a bill of Rs 59. He said, "They took Rs 50 for a bottle of water that's MRP is Rs.20, MRP is inclusive of all taxes and over that they also took CGST and SGST of Rs. 4.50 respectively. I found it outrageous!"
The court ruled in favour of Debabrat Saikia and he received the amount of Rs 15,000 which the Guwahati Address was asked to pay Saikia for causing him mental agony and conducting unfair trade practices.
When the management of the Guwahati Address was asked about the matter, they had an apprehensive response. The manager of the hotel Debojit Roy said, "As per precedence, the Kerala HC and several other courts have clearly mentioned that the hotel industry is a service sector industry not a retail industry, we serve water, we do not sell it. Hence, expecting similar prices for the same product in a Hotel and a shop is not realistic. We are not satisfied with the ruling and we will definitely appeal further."