The Telangana High Court has upheld the validity of complaints lodged through social media as a legitimate mode of registering grievances against service providers. Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya, while hearing a plea filed by a tea stall operator challenging the termination of his contract by South Central Railway, stated that such complaints cannot be dismissed as lacking seriousness.
“Complaints/customer feedback on social media is an accepted mode of registering complaints against a service provider, and the petitioner cannot adopt an ostrich policy in today’s time on the pretext that social media complaints do not deserve to be treated with seriousness,” the Court emphasized.
The tea stall operator, whose stall was located at Secunderabad Railway Station, had his contract terminated after complaints were made on the social media platform X (formerly Twitter). The complaints highlighted issues such as poor food quality, food items not meeting recommended weight, and overcharging.
In its ruling, the Court observed that the Railways had issued multiple warnings and provided ample opportunities for the contractor to rectify the deficiencies. However, the operator failed to address the issues.
“The impugned letter also mentions the petitioner’s involvement in acts of violence and lists five penalties imposed on the petitioner from 05.02.2024 till 09.10.2024 together with a warning letter on the complaints made by the customers on Twitter. The impugned letter makes it clear, on the face of it, that the Railway gave several opportunities to the petitioner to mend its ways before issuing the notice of termination on 07.11.2024,” the Court noted.
Justice Bhattacharya highlighted the gravity of the complaints, which went beyond minor grievances. “The complaints are indeed serious in nature since they not only relate to poor quality of food but also food below the recommended weight and in excess of the prescribed rate,” the judgment stated.
Case: M:S Mathura Prasad And Sons vs The Union Of India – Available on LAWFYI.IO
