In a bizarre judgement, the consumer court in Delhi has awarded a Rs 2 crore compensation to a model for the mental trauma she allegedly underwent because of a bad haircut given to her by the hairstylist at Delhi’s ITC Maurya.
For the mental harassment caused to the woman, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has in its order dated Tuesday, September 21 asked the five-star hotel in Delhi to pay a whopping Rs 2 crore compensation to the woman.
A two-member bench comprising of President Justice RK Agrawal and member S M Kantikar said: “There is no doubt that the women are very cautious and careful with regard to their hair. They spend a handsome amount on keeping the hair in good condition. They are also emotionally attached with their hair”.
The court has asked ITC to pay the compensation to the complainant Aashna Roy within 8 weeks for deficiency in service under the Consumer Protection Act.
“The Opposite Party No 2 is also guilty of medical negligence in hair treatment. Her scalp was burnt and still, there is allergy and itching due to fault of the staff of Opposite Party No 2,” noted the commission.
‘Has stopped seeing herself in the mirror’, the court noted while ordering ITC Maurya to pay the compensation
Roy reportedly told the court that she has undergone severe mental breakdown and has stopped seeing herself in the mirror and refrained from all social activities because of the “shoddy haircut and thereafter the torturous hair treatment”.
“She stopped seeing herself in the mirror… and her social activities. She is a communication professional and is required to be involved in meetings and interactive sessions. But she lost her self-confidence due to her little hair. She has also suffered a loss of income due to a mental breakdown after the shoddy haircut and thereafter the torturous hair treatment. She left her job also,” noted the bench.
The consumer court bench added that the complainant, because of her long hair has been a model for hair products and has done modelling for big brands like Pantene and VLCC. “But due to hair cutting against her instructions… she lost her expected assignments and suffered a huge loss which completely changed her lifestyle and shattered her dream to be a top model,” it added.
The respondents in the case, on the other hand, had submitted that the “compensation claimed by the complainant is ex-facie exaggerated and without any basis”.