Film celebrity held liable for no-show at event, ordered to refund fee

Dr Aruna Wankhede of Nashik was planning a get-together for her medical college batchmates at Bay Watch Resort in South Goa on November 18, 2023.

 

She wanted to invite a celebrity for the occasion.

 

Moushumi Chatterjee, alias Indira Mukherjee, an actress residing in Mumbai, is a famous film celebrity who makes guest appearances on payment of a fee. Her guest appearance was arranged through her Nashik agent, Deepali Chavan.

 

It was decided to pay ₹3 lakh to the actress and ₹50,000 to the agent as their professional fees. The actress demanded an advance of ₹2 lakh, which was also paid. She also demanded return air tickets for herself and two team members, along with hotel accommodation. These arrangements were made, and rooms were booked at Hotel Marriott in Goa. Additionally, ₹1.25 lakh was demanded in cash for expenses, which was handed over to her agent.

 

Some senior doctors settled abroad were also invited to the get-together. Some of them met the actress at the airport and welcomed her when she arrived a day before the event. The balance of the fee was also paid to the actress.

 

On the day of the event, the agent informed Dr Wankhede that the actress would shift to another hotel if she did not like the one booked for her. Dr Wankhede agreed to bear the charges if the actress wanted to stay elsewhere.

 

The actress failed to appear at the event, ruining the well-planned programme that had generated considerable expectations. Dr Wankhede therefore sent her an email the same day, calling upon her to refund the money, and followed it up with email reminders. However, there was no response to the emails, and the amount paid was not refunded.

 

Dr Wankhede filed a complaint against the actress and her agent before the Nashik District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (District Commission). The actress and her agent did not file replies to the notices sent by the consumer commission. They merely claimed that it was not a consumer dispute and that the complaint was not maintainable.

 

The Commission proceeded to decide the complaint ex parte. It noted that the correspondence on record established that the actress had accepted the invitation to attend the function on payment of a fee. This was substantiated by the receipt showing the transfer of funds. The bill for the

 

air travel of the actress and two other members, along with other documents, indicated that the actress had agreed to attend the function on payment of fees and expenses. The legal notice sent before the complaint was filed was also returned.

 

The District Commission observed that the actress had failed to fulfil her contractual obligation to attend the function. It noted that her services had been engaged for a consideration. These services could not be termed a contract of personal service, as there was no employer-employee or master-servant relationship. Hence, the complaint was held to be maintainable.

 

The Commission concluded that the wilful failure to attend the event despite receiving the contractual fee constituted a deficiency in service. Accordingly, in an order dated June 30, 2026, delivered by Shilpa S Dholharkar, who headed the Bench, along with members Prerana Lonkar and Kavita A Chavan, the Commission directed Moushumi Chatterjee to refund ₹3 lakh with interest at 9 per cent from November 18, 2023. It also awarded ₹1 lakh as compensation and ₹25,000 towards litigation costs.

 

The writer is a consumer activist