In a bizarre mix-up that led to legal action, the Bengaluru Urban Second District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has ordered a wedding coverage studio from Andhra Pradesh to compensate a groom after he received a CD containing footage from another man’s wedding. The studio has been directed to refund Rs 20,000 and pay an additional Rs 5,000 for mental agony and litigation costs.
The complaint was lodged by R Prasanna Kumar Reddy, a resident of NRI Layout in Bengaluru, who entered into a contract with Nagesh Bandapi, owner of Eye Photo Studio, for his wedding scheduled on December 29, 2021. Reddy had paid Rs 40,000 upfront for the studio’s services to capture and document his wedding ceremony. However, issues arose when the studio failed to deliver the photo albums and CDs on time, citing various excuses and ultimately breaching the agreement terms.
Months after the wedding, when the studio finally handed over the photo albums and a Blu-ray disc, Reddy discovered that the disc did not contain his wedding footage but that of another groom. Upon raising the issue, Bandapi initially gave further excuses and later confessed that the original video files were lost due to a hard disk failure.
Following an unsatisfactory response from the studio owner, who denied full payment and disputed the contractual agreement, Reddy took the matter to the consumer court in March. He sought a refund of Rs 70,000 and an additional Rs 1.50 lakh as compensation for the deficient service.
Presiding over the case, Vijaykumar M Pawale noted the lack of contrary evidence from Bandapi, who remained absent from the proceedings, and ruled that there was a clear deficiency in service. “The CDs provided by him are corrupted and are not showing any scenes of the wedding ceremony,” Pawale stated in the order.
The court’s decision mandates that the studio owner complete the compensation payments within 45 days, marking a closure to the distressing ordeal faced by Reddy due to the studio’s mishandling of his wedding memories.
