Ahmedabad: With city police failing to execute arrest warrants against a tour operator for nearly four years, Gandhinagar District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission has issued another non-bailable warrant, directing police not to return it with a routine remark that the accused was unavailable, but to submit a detailed compliance report explaining the failure.The case concerns a Gandhinagar resident who paid Rs 70,000 in advance to a tour operator for flight tickets to Sikkim and hotel accommodation for a honeymoon trip after his marriage in May 2022. The tour operator allegedly failed to arrange the bookings and subsequently shut his office.The Gandhinagar resident approached the consumer commission, which directed the tour operator to refund the amount with 9% annual interest and pay compensation for mental harassment. When the accused failed to comply, the commission issued a bailable warrant in Nov 2022, followed by more than half a dozen arrest warrants. None could be executed, and the warrants were repeatedly returned on the grounds that the accused was unavailable at his stated address in Navrangpura.The commission also wrote to Navrangpura police and the Ahmedabad police commissioner on several occasions, seeking execution of the warrants, said Mukesh Parikh, president of the All India Consumer Protection and Action Commission, which assisted the complainant.Taking note of the repeated failures, the commission issued another warrant on Oct 1 and directed the Navrangpura police inspector to submit a detailed report if the warrant could not be served.The commission instructed police to specify the efforts made, the time and place of attempted service, the names of people contacted and their statements, and the reasons the warrant remained unexecuted. It cautioned against returning the warrant with routine remarks such as “not available” or “office is closed”.
