Why should men unaccompanied by women pay for entry, 2 Hyderabad pubs fined

Hyderabad: The Hyderabad consumer disputes commission has directed Amnesia Sky Bar and Fusion 9 pubs in the city not to charge any upfront cover charges for consumers who are unaccompanied by women and also not to charge stag entry.

The two pubs have been fined Rs. 5,000 by the court for unfair trade practices.

On 20 March, a complaint was filed by a group of friends against these two pubs for charging stag entry fee.

On 19 March, a group of four friends visited Fusion 9 in Inorbit Mall. Before entering the premises, the complainant and his friends were stopped by the staff at the reception and informed that because they were all men with no women accompanying them, they would have to pay an upfront cover charge of Rs. 1,000 per person, which would then be redeemed on the final bill.

This was described as ‘Stag Entrance’ cover prices. The complainant had no choice but to make the payment, which included the upfront cover prices of stag entry of Rs. 1,000 per person and music band payments worth Rs. 500 per person, totalling Rs. 1,500 per person. The complainant was joined by three other male companions and each paid Rs. 1,500, the total coming to Rs. 6,000.

Four cover charge coupons worth Rs. 1,000 each were issued to the complainant and his friends, with serial numbers 286 to 289. After the final amount was paid, the staff took back the cover charge cards.

After consuming food and beverages, the group was billed Rs. 5,325 at Fusion 9. The staff requested the complainant to pay only Rs. 1,325 after subtracting the cover expenses of Rs. 4,000 that was paid earlier.

The complainant, who is an advocate, issued a legal notice on 20 March via registered post acknowledgement due (RPAD), intimating how the act of charging upfront cover charges worth Rs. 1,000 per person for the reason that they are stags, i.e., men unaccompanied by women, is an insulting notion converted into a profiteering mechanism that amounts to unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act 2019.

“The discrimination against men entering pubs based on whether they are accompanied by women in a sufficient ratio of women to men is a serious violation of fundamental rights protected by the Indian Constitution. Also, the concept is disrespectful to women because they are considered as some sort of chattel/commodity, the existence of which with males becomes a way of winning a concession/avoiding extra amount payment ahead,” said the complainant.

He further said, “It is a blatant violation of the fundamental rights under Article 15 of the Indian Constitution because it is a gender-discriminatory practice. The act of Fusion 9 in converting the aforementioned violation of fundamental rights into a profiteering mechanism by ensuring that men unaccompanied by women end up paying Rs. 1,000 to even enter the premises, regardless of how much they intended to spend, is an unfair trade practice under Section 2(47) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.”

The court ordered Amnesia Sky Bar and Fusion 9 not to demand any upfront cover costs payments from customers just because they are unaccompanied by women and not to charge stag entry cover charges. They were fined Rs. 5,000. The pubs are obligated to obey the commission’s legislative direction. The commission said the pubs’ actions are not only deficient in service but also unfair trade practices.