The production house was accused by the petitioner of 'unfair trade practice' for not including the 'Jabra Fan' song in the Shah Rukh Khan starrer-Fan (2016).
YRF loses appeal against consumer forum order to pay compensation for not including promo song in Fan
Mumbai - 20 Feb 2020 18:45 IST
Our Correspondent
The National Consumer Disputes Redress Commission (NCDRC) directed Yash Raj Studios on Tuesday to pay Rs15,000 as compensation for 'unfair trade practice' for not using the promotional song 'Jabra Fan' in the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer Fan (2016).
The production house had filed a review petition before the national forum against an order of the Maharashtra State Consumer Disputes Redress Commission (MSCDRC). The state body had also fined the studio for the same reason in October 2017.
The complaint against YRF was filed by Afreen Fatima Zaidi, a teacher, who was disappointed to find that the song 'Jabra Fan' was not used in the film, despite it having been used to promote the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer.
Though a district forum rejected her plea, the state commission upheld her complaint and ordered the production house to pay Rs10,000 as compensation and Rs5,000 towards costs.
The studio then filed a review petition with the NCDRC, but the national body upheld the state commission's order.
A report on the website livelaw.in said the national commission, presided over by judicial member Justice VK Jain, held that the inclusion of the song in the promo when it was not really part of the film deceived viewers and amounted to an unfair trade practice under section 2(1)(r) of the Consumer Protection Act.
In his order, Justice Jain said, "I fail to understand the logic behind including the song in the promo but excluding it while exhibiting the movie, unless the intention of the producer is to deceive the viewer by making him believe the song would form part of the movie while knowing very well that the said song would not be a part of the movie when it is exhibited in cinema halls."
Yash Raj Films argued that the producer and lead actor Shah Rukh Khan had already made statements that the song would not be included in the film. However, the commission said such statements are 'insufficient' as a person who has seen the song might not necessarily have seen the interview.
