In a significant ruling for consumer rights, Hyderabad District Consumer Commission has imposed a penalty on BookMyShow Live Private Limited for failing to inform a customer about the cancellation of a movie screening in advance.
The commission directed the company to pay ₹10,000 as compensation for the inconvenience caused and an additional ₹2,000 towards litigation expenses.
The case was filed by Narayanan Kuttigopal Krishnan, a resident of Kukatpally, who had booked a ticket through the BookMyShow app for the 10:50 AM show of Malayalam actor Mohanlal’s film Barroz at Cinepolis, Lulu Mall, on January 1, 2025.
However, after reaching the theatre, the customer discovered that the scheduled show had been cancelled and another film was being screened instead. According to the complaint, neither BookMyShow nor the theatre management had informed him beforehand about the cancellation.
Claiming that the experience disrupted his New Year plans and caused unnecessary inconvenience, the customer approached the consumer commission seeking relief.
During the proceedings, BookMyShow argued that it acts only as an intermediary platform connecting customers and theatre operators. The company stated that decisions regarding show timings, cancellations, and scheduling are entirely handled by theatre management. It also informed the commission that the ticket amount of ₹207.14 had already been refunded to the customer the following day.
After hearing both sides, the commission observed that once a ticket booking is completed through a platform, communicating any cancellation or schedule change becomes part of the service responsibility.
The commission noted that allowing a customer to travel to the theatre without prior notice amounted to deficiency in service. It further clarified that merely refunding the ticket amount does not compensate for the loss of time and inconvenience experienced by the customer.
The order reinforces an important consumer principle: digital booking platforms may not always be responsible for operational decisions, but timely communication with customers remains a key part of the service experience.
