‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ Just Saved A Crore, Thanks To Supreme Court

New Delhi:

The Ideal Court docket has put aside a client discussion board verdict directing former promoters Big name India and Bharti Airtel to pay punitive damages of Rs 1 crore for his or her alleged “unfair industry observe” in a competition telecast throughout season three of standard TV display ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’, regularly known as KBC.

Whilst permitting the appeals filed through Big name India and Airtel difficult the shopper discussion board’s September 2008 verdict, a Ideal Court docket bench comprising Justices MM Shantanagoudar and R Subhash Reddy mentioned that discovering of the fee of “an unfair industry observe” used to be “unhealthy in regulation”.

The Nationwide Client Disputes Redressal Fee or NCDRC handed its verdict on a plea which had alleged that Big name India and Airtel had dedicated “unfair industry observe” beneath the Client Coverage Act, 1986.

It mentioned that they had been making a “misconception” in audience’ minds that participation within the ‘Har Seat Scorching Seat’ (Each Seat Scorching Seat) contest, which used to be telecast throughout KBC between January 22, 2007 and April 19, 2007, used to be “freed from price”.

All through the competition, audience of KBC had been invited to take part and an purpose, multiple-choice query with 4 conceivable solutions which used to be displayed at the display throughout each and every episode.

The audience, who wanted to take part, had been required to ship in the proper solution via SMS services and products introduced through Airtel, MTNL and BSNL, to a specified quantity. The winner for each and every episode would then be randomly decided on and awarded a prize cash of Rs 2 lakh.

The Ideal Court docket famous in its verdict that contributors in ‘Har Seat Scorching Seat’ contest had been required to pay Rs 2.40 in line with SMS to Airtel, which used to be upper than the standard charge for SMSes.

The plea sooner than the shopper discussion board had alleged that price of establishing the competition in addition to the prize cash used to be being reimbursed from the greater charge of SMS fees and the income from those fees had been being shared through Airtel with Big name India.

In its verdict, the shopper discussion board had held that because the prize cash for the competition used to be absolutely or partially lined through income earned from greater SMS fees, Big name India and Airtel had “dedicated an unfair industry observe”.

The patron discussion board had additionally awarded punitive damages of Rs 1 crore, for which each Big name India and Airtel had been held collectively and severally liable, and directed them to pay litigation prices of Rs 50,000 to the complainant sooner than it.

Coping with their appeals, the Ideal Court docket held that there used to be no foundation to conclude that the prize cash for contest used to be paid without delay or not directly out of the SMS income earned through Airtel.

“We’re of the view that there is not any foundation to conclude that the prize cash for the ‘Har Seat Scorching Seat’ contest used to be paid without delay out of the SMS income earned through Airtel, or that Airtel and Big name India had colluded to extend the SMS charges so that you can finance the prize cash and percentage the SMS income, and the discovering of the fee of an ‘unfair industry observe’ rendered through the Nationwide Fee in this foundation is susceptible to be put aside,” the bench mentioned.

Referring to award of punitive damages, the bench mentioned it will no longer were achieved because the complainant sooner than NCDRC had neither prayed for punitive damages within the grievance nor proved that any precise loss used to be suffered through shoppers.