Supreme Court rules Yash Raj Films not liable to viewer for omitting 'Jabra' song from SRK starrer 'Fan'

The Supreme Court on Monday set aside a National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) order that had held Yash Raj Films (YRF) liable to pay penalty for omitting a promotional song 'Jabra Fan' from Shahrukh Khan starrer film 'Fan' [Yash Raj Films Pvt Ltd vs Afreen Fatima Zaidi and Anr]..A Bench of Justices PS Narasimha and Aravind Kumar quashed the NCDRC order which had directed the production house (YRF) to pay ₹ 10,000 as compensation to a movie viewer who was aggrieved by the exclusion of the song from the film when it was played in movie theatres. ."We have formulated as to what are the implications of a promo song and trailer, and the contractual obligations thereto. We have allowed the appeal," the Supreme Court said..YRF had challenged challenged the 2021 NCDRC order passed on a complaint by one Afreen Fatima Zaidi.Zaidi had complained that she was cheated on account of the fact that the song, 'Jabra Fan', which was shown in the promos and trailers of the film, was not shown when the movie was played in the movie theatre.Zaidi had claimed before the consumer forum that her children did not eat food the night they went to watch the film as they were disappointed over the fact that the song was not part of the film. This led to increase in acidity levels and consequential hospitalization.The NCDRC had held that inclusion of a song in the promo of the movie when it is not actually a part of the movie amounted to deceiving viewers and was an unfair trade practice under Section 2(1)(r) of the Consumer Protection Act.YRF challenged this order before the Supreme Court and argued that the "Jabra" song was a promotional song which it was not obliged to include in the movie.The Supreme Court had in September 2021 stayed the NCDRC order passed against Yash Raj films. Today, the top court set aside the consumer forum's order altogether. .In its judgment, the Supreme Court made it clear that promotional trailers are unilateral and do not qualify as offers/promises/agreements eliciting acceptance and enforceable by law."A promotional trailer is unilateral. It is only meant to encourage a viewer to purchase the ticket to the movie, which is an independent transaction and contract from the promotional trailer. A promotional trailer by itself is not an offer and neither intends to nor can create a contractual relationship. Since the promotional trailer is not an offer, there is no possibility of it becoming a promise."The Bench emphasised that services involving presentation of art necessarily involve the freedom and discretion of the service provider."This is necessary and compelling by the very nature of such services. The variations are substantial, and rightly so. Therefore, the standard by which a court of law judges the representation, followed by the service, must be different and must account for the creative element involved in such transactions," the Court underscored. It, thus, allowed the appeal after finding no unfair trade practice was made out nor any enforceable contractual promise broken..Yash Raj Films was represented by advocates Deepak Biswas, Abhishek Malhotra, Subhalaxmi Sen, and Raghav Shukla, along with Advocate-on-Record (AoR) Sonali Jain..The complainants were represented by advocates Mumtaz Javed Shaikh, and Zeeshan Zaidi, along with AoR Mohd. Zahid Hussain..The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) was represented by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Aishwarya Bhati. advocates Ruchi Kohli, Vatsal Joshi, Ruchi Gour Narula, Ishaan Sharma, Vedansh Anand, Navanjay Mahapatra, Shashwat Parihar, along with AoR Amrish Kumar..[Read Judgment]