New Delhi
The Supreme Court on Monday overturned a National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) decision that required Yash Raj Films (YRF) to compensate a consumer with Rs 10,000 for not including the song ‘Jabra Fan’ in the movie ‘Fan’ starring Shah Rukh Khan.
A bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar, in their ruling, indicated that they addressed key questions of whether promotional material like ‘teasers’ or ‘trailers’ creates a contractual obligation, and whether excluding content from the final film is an unfair trade practice.
The case began when Afreen Fatima Zaidi, the complainant, took issue with the fact that the song ‘Jabra Fan’, widely featured in the promotional trailers for the 2016 movie ‘Fan’, was not included in the theatrical release. Yash Raj Films argued before the SC that they were not bound to include promotional songs in the actual movie, asserting that they were not a service provider to theatergoers. Despite Zaidi’s case being dismissed by the District Consumer Forum in 2017, she found success with the State Commission of Maharashtra, which ruled in her favor, ordering YRF to compensate her with Rs 10,000 and cover litigation costs of Rs 5,000. The NCDRC upheld this ruling, but the SC has now set it aside, indicating that more information will follow in the detailed judgment.
