Court orders summer camp to pay over Rs 50,000 after children find lizards in drinking water

NEW DELHI: A consumer court in Hyderabad has directed the summer camp organisers to refund camp fees with interest and pay compensation to three children, after their parents alleged that the children were kept in unhygienic and unsafe conditions. The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission-III, Hyderabad, passed the order on a complaint filed by three children and their fathers, against the summer camp organisers, managing director, and the camp venue, Kanha Shanti Vanam in Ranga Reddy district, Telangana. What was the issue?The three children had enrolled in the "25th All India Residential Summer Camp," held at Kanha Shanti Vanam from May 3 to May 22, 2025, for children aged between 8 and 18. Digital ads and brochures for the camp promised AC accommodation, hygienic food, 24x7 medical facilities, security, separate housing for boys and girls, trained dorm parents, and emergency communication with parents. The fathers of the three children paid Rs 56,000 and Rs 55,000 each — Rs 1,66,000 in total — to enrol. As per the complaint filed, the camp did not have the facilities it mentioned in its brochures. The children's drinking water reportedly contained lizards and insects, the promised nutritious food was replaced with instant noodles, dormitories were overcrowded, children faced bullying that staff allegedly ignored, sick children weren't given proper medical care, and they were denied communication with their parents even during emergencies. Laundry facilities were also unhygienic enough to cause skin rashes, the complaint said. After being told that their children were unwell, parents visited the camp and found that the condition was very unsafe for the minor children there and decided to withdraw their children within a few days and asked for a refund, which the organisers refused to give. The parents then approached the consumer commission, seeking a refund with 18 per cent interest, Rs 5,00,000 in compensation for each child, and Rs 50,000 in litigation costs. What did the commission say?The commission said that whatever the camp promised in its brochure like hygienic food, safe accommodation, medical care, and proper supervision wasn't just advertising and it was treated as a real promise the camp had to keep. Since the camp failed to provide these things, the commission said this counted as poor service under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It also said that promising one set of facilities through ads but delivering something completely different was a way of misleading and cheating customers, which the law treats as an unfair trade practice. "The actual conditions at the camp were contrary to the promises made in the brochure and advertisements. Hence, the acts of the Opposite Parties also amount to unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019," the commission said The organisers were sent notice but never responded or appeared before the commission, and the case proceeded without their side being heard. "Though notice was served, the Opposite Parties failed to contest the matter and did not choose to rebut the allegations made by the complainants. Therefore, an adverse inference is liable to be drawn against them," the commission added. Citing a Supreme Court ruling, the commission said compensation under the act should "adequately compensate consumers for harassment, mental agony and suffering," and, citing another precedent, noted that an award of interest was justified since money had been wrongfully held back by the organisers. The commission directed the organisers to refund Rs 1,66,000 to the fathers with 12 per cent annual interest from May 5, 2025 — lower than the 18 per cent the complainants had sought — and to pay Rs 50,000 in compensation to each of the three children, amounting to Rs 1,50,000 in total. The organisers were also told to pay Rs 15,000 towards litigation costs, with the entire amount to be paid within 45 days.