Ghaziabad: The consumer commission has ordered a travel company proprietor who was put behind bars for cheating his customer to refund nearly Rs 50,000 paid by her to book a flight to Paris in 2022, along with interest. In an ex parte order, the commission also directed him to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation within 30 days, failing which interest calculated at 9% PA will be payable on the entire sum.Rajendra Nagar resident Drishti Bana approached the commission against AS Holidays Group proprietor Anuj Sharma on Jan 2, 2025. She told the commission that she had booked a flight ticket to Paris for her brother on Dec 23, 2022. He was supposed to fly out from Delhi on Jan 7 next year. She had paid Rs 49,800 to Sharma through UPI for the ticket. After waiting for the ticket for more than three days, she contacted Sharma, who assured her that he would deliver the ticket within two days.The ticket was sent as an attachment through the AS Holidays Group email, but the airline rejected online check-in on Jan 6, 2023. The airline’s customer care told her that the flight number, PNR number and e-ticket number were all invalid. Bana tried to contact Sharma several times, but he did not respond. She could not even find his office in Gyan Khand, Indirapuram. She booked another ticket for her brother.On Feb 4 that year, Bana filed a complaint against Sharma and his firm for forgery and cheating at the Indirapuram police station. He was eventually arrested and a chargesheet was filed against him. Sharma was later released on bail.After Bana approached the consumer commission, notices were sent to Sharma, but he did not respond. The commission decided to proceed with the case ex parte on May 27, 2025.Commission president Anil Kumar Pundir and members Shailja Sachan and RP Singh on Sept 17 said Bana’s statements were credible and substantiated. “Despite receiving the full amount, Sharma did not provide a valid air ticket nor did he refund the amount. This amounts to deficiency in service and unfair trade practices,” the bench ruled.
