Cinemas must provide free 3D glasses, says panel

₹30 was charged extra for spectacles, they were not sterilised after use: complainant

The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has held that the owner or proprietor of cinemas cannot collect additional amount for providing 3D glasses for viewing 3D films. The commission, headed by Justice K. Surendra Mohan, observed that if 3D glasses were necessary for the better viewing of a 3D movie, it was imperative that they were supplied for free to the viewer. The commission made the ruling while disposing of an appeal from the proprietor of Remya Theatre in Thiruvananthapuram against the district forum’s order directing the proprietor to pay ₹10,000 as compensation to N.R. Ravi Krishnan, complainant, for collecting additional amount for 3D glasses. On October 28, 2013, the complainant had gone to the cinema to watch an English 3D movie Gravity. He was forced to pay an extra ₹30 for the 3D spectacles. He said the spectacles were kept in a plastic cover after use and were issued to the viewers of the next show without being sterilised. He also complained that no bill was given to him for payment of ₹30. The complainant alleged that charging of ₹30, more than half the ticket price, as rent for the spectacles amounted to restrictive trade practice.