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In fact, I wrote to the hotel owner asking for compensation, but he declined saying (a) he had himself suffered loss and (b) the floods , the destruction were all acts of God, and he cannot be held liable. Do I have a case here? Hotels which were built in violation of applicable laws and rules on the bank of the river, thereby putting the lives of those who stayed there in jeopardy, cannot blame nature or God and escape liability. A hotel has a duty to ensure that the premises is safe for guests in all respects and the failure to do so constitutes negligence and the hotel has to take responsibility for the consequences of such negligence.
In Manisha Chhabra vs The Director, Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation, decided in 2003, for example, the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission laid stress on this aspect, while awarding compensation to Manisha Chhabra, for the tragic death of her husband while on her honeymoon. Soon after she and her husband checked into the hotel (at about 8.30 pm), her husband noticed a small door on the western side that was just latched. Assuming it to be a storage space or balcony, he opened it and stepped outside, only to fall to the ground 35 feet below. Noting that the hotel should have taken every precaution to prevent such an accident — it should have locked it up or put a warning sign- the Commission directed the hotel owner to pay Manisha, Rs 5 lakh, along with 10 per cent interest calculated for 10 years. So you can file a case of negligence against the hotel, but make sure you have enough evidence to prove it
I feel that the government should be held accountable for the death and destruction in Uttarakhand during the recent floods. Would it make sense for those who were stuck in the hillls without access to medical care or even food and suffered major disabilities as a result, to file a complaint against the Central as well as the state government, seeking compensation for the suffering undergone and have to undergo for the rest of their lives? It does make good sense because the government failed to heed the warnings sent by the state meteorological department predicting heavy to very heavy rainfall. So it did not make the necessary arrangements to protect the citizens. The government is also
guilty In fact, the tragedy that we see today is the result of the administration’s failure on all fronts — those in the seats of power not only allowed ruthless and unbridled exploitation of nature for personal gain, but also failed to put in place a well-laid-out disaster warning and rescue plan that would have saved lives and kept the number of fatalities to the minimum. The administration should be held accountable for its inaction and gross negligence and you can certainly file a complaint before the consumer court . It can be a complaint from an affected individual or even a class action complaint from a group of affected people. If you can file a complaint on behalf of all the affected, it would be helpful as many of them — non-residents of Uttarakhand — will find it difficult to pursue the case in a consumer court in Uttarakhand (State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission) or Delhi (National Disputes Redressal Commission).
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My
family and I suffered very badly during out trip to Uttarakhand, but
thanks to the Indian Army, we survived and returned home safe. Now I
want to sue the hotel in which we stayed. Our entire ordeal began with
the destruction of the hotel in which we were staying.
