A woman, who wanted to become a model and worked towards her dream every day, has been awarded a compensation of Rs 2 Cr by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC). So what went wrong?

In 2018, the said woman, whose name has been withheld for privacy reasons, went to ITC Maurya, a star hotel in Chennai, for a haircut. She asked the salon professional to chop off four inches of her hair. The hairdresser instead chopped off her entire hair leaving just four inches. The professional also used ammonia, which affected the woman's hair growth and caused damage to her scalp.

The woman approached the Consumer Court, saying that the incident permanently shattered her prospect of becoming a model. By the time her hair was damaged beyond repair, she had taken up modelling assignments with a couple of brands. Her career growth literally stopped after the bad haircut. In the following months, the victim couldn't hold on to her job at a private company due to poor performance issues caused by mental trauma.

Acknowledging the trauma undergone by the woman, the Consumer Court has asked ITC Maurya to pay her a compensation of Rs 2 Cr.