Tag Archives: Supreme Court

Travel agents need to put forth their case before the Supreme Court to make the Bench conscious of the plight of travel agents while finally deciding the matter on issue of credit shells given by airlines instead of cash refunds, says Dheeraj Nair, Partner and Vishrutyi Sahni, Associate at J. Sagar Associates. “Every individual, including the Supreme Court judges are consumers to airlines. Thus, they understand the transaction between a consumer and an airline and relate to the impact of cancellations and refunds. However, non-members of the travel industry are not aware of the transaction between an airline and a travel agent and thus, cannot relate to the impact of cancellations and refunds on travel agents. Only by placing this information on record will the Supreme Court be able to understand the direct losses being faced by travel agents in case of non-refunds and consequentially enable them to order accordingly,” says the firm.

ITC Hotels has announced the successful acquisition of Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa as part of an auction held by Industrial Finance Corporation of India (IFCI) for Rs 541 crores in 2015, and upheld by the Supreme Court in its March 19 judgement. Park Hyatt Goa Resort and Spa at Cansaulim, spread across 45 acres and comprising 252 Indo-Portuguese style rooms and suites, is currently under renovation and will soon echo ITC’s standards of excellence.  The sprawling property is currently under minor renovation to comply with all the ITC’s exemplary sustainability practises to deliver the best of luxury to its customers. Commenting on the chain’s entry into Goa, Nakul Anand, Executive Director, ITC said “ITC is pleased to announce the latest addition to its luxury hotel portfolio in the hospitality landscape of Goa. This has been a long-awaited destination for ITC and we welcome the opportunity to be integrated into the multi-faceted culture and ethos of Goa.” He further added, “In order to ensure business continuity and seamless transition, the leadership team of ITC Hotels is at hand to support the current team of managers and associates. ITC Hotels has received tremendous support from key officials in the state government to ensure that we can recommence operations at the earliest and support the tourism goals of this great state.”    

The Supreme Court has clarified that the ban on sale of alcohol within 500 meters of state and national highways does not apply within city limits, granting relief to the liquor and hospitality industry. The Apex Court’s directive that no liquor shop shall be visible and directly accessible from the highways nor it should be situated within 500 metres of the outer edge of the national or state highway or of the service lane, created chaos in the hospitality industry. While lakhs of people lost their jobs, the MICE business impacted a great deal in the country. Terming it as a landmark order, Dilip Datwani, President, Hotel and Restaurant Association of Western India (HRAWI) says, “This was a much needed clarification as millions of jobs and the very survival of the nation’s tourism industry was at stake. It has been HRAWI’s contention right from the start that the original order could not have been directed at hotels and liquor vends within city limits. We are thankful to the Bench and the Hon’ble Justices for unequivocally clarifying this. The order will bring relief to almost 70 per cent of the affected hotels.”