A salon at Hotel ITC Maurya Delhi has been ordered by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission to pay a woman compensation of Rs. 2 crores for allegedly 'botching' her hair and leaving her with a damaged scalp in 2018 which caused her "severe stress and mental trauma" after she was left with almost no hair. The complainant was a model for hair products.

The order was passed by Justice RK Agrawal and Dr SM Kantikar, who observed that "women are very cautious and careful with regard to their hair and spend a handsome amount on keeping the hair in good condition”.

The model's long and healthy hair was one of the prime elements of her career. She had earlier modeled for VLCC and Pantene. However, due to the botched hair cut against her instructions by the salon at luxury hotel chain ITC Maurya, she lost her expected assignments and suffered a huge loss which completely changed her lifestyle. It also "shattered her dream to be a top model".

The woman had visited the salon at Hotel ITC Maurya on April 12, 2018, for a haircut as she had an upcoming interview at the time. She asked for her regular hairstylist, but since he was not available she was assigned another stylist on assurance from the staff.

As per the woman, she was “shocked and surprised to observe that despite her specific instructions for long layers covering her face in the front and at back, and a 4-inch straight hair trim from the bottom”, the hairstylist had “chopped off her entire hair leaving only 4-inch from the top touching her shoulder" after taking over an hour for a supposedly simple haircut. The woman was also constantly asked to keep her head facing down for the haircut.

When the model complained to the salon, she was offered hair extension treatment for her upcoming interview "free of cost". However, when she returned for the same on 3rd May, it resulted in further damaging her hair and scalp. “Her scalp was burnt with severe burning sensation due to hair treatment and there was itching and flaking of the scalp. The chemical used in hair treatment has caused permanent damage to her scalp,” the NCDRC recorded.

The commission also noted that she was also working as a senior management professional and earning a decent income. “She underwent severe mental breakdown and trauma due to negligence of the opposite party in cutting her hair and also lost her job. Apart from this, the party is also guilty of medical negligence during the hair treatment. Her scalp was burnt and as a result, still has allergy and itching."

The woman stated that she had “undergone severe mental breakdown and self-esteem as she always had long hair and because of fault on the part of ITC Hotels Ltd, she has been left with little or almost no hair”.

Meanwhile, the salon has maintained that the compensation claimed by the womain is ex-facie exaggerated and without any basis. "The complainant has inflated the alleged claim deliberately in order to invoke the jurisdiction of this Hon’ble Court and the complaint is liable to be dismissed for want of pecuniary jurisdiction,” the lawyer for the salon argued.

The salon has been ordered to pay the woman the 2cr compensation within 8 weeks of the order.