A District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Himachal Pradesh has held Reliance JioFiber guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice after repeated internet outages disrupted a Shimla resident’s broadband connection. The commission directed the internet service provider to pay ₹10,000 as compensation for mental agony and litigation expenses while also restoring the customer’s internet connection free of cost.
What was the complaint?
The complainant, Pratima Chauhan, had subscribed to a six-month JioFiber broadband plan after paying ₹ 2,824.92 in March 2025. According to the complaint, the internet connection stopped functioning in April 2025, severely affecting her academic work and daily activities.
Despite raising multiple complaints through the company’s customer support channels, Chauhan alleged that the connectivity issues continued and were never permanently resolved. Frustrated by the repeated outages, she approached the District Consumer Commission seeking relief.
JioFiber’s defence
Reliance JioFiber denied any deficiency in service and argued that the complainant herself had cancelled service requests before they could be completed. The company maintained that the broadband issue had eventually been resolved and claimed that technicians had made several attempts to contact the customer.
JioFiber also informed the commission that the technician who had attended the complaint was no longer employed by the company.
Consumer Commission’s remark
The bench, comprising President Dr Baldev Singh and Member Nidhi Sharma, found that JioFiber had failed to provide any convincing technical evidence to prove that the customer’s grievance had been fully addressed.
In its order dated July 21, 2026, the commission observed:
“The plea of the opposite party (JioFiber) is that the grievance of the complainant has been redressed, and she is continuously enjoying the JioFiber services without any interruption. Hence, it is for the opposite party to prove through evidence on record that the opposite party has redressed the grievance of the complainant.”
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The commission further noted that while the telecom company claimed the issue had been resolved, it failed to submit any affidavit from the concerned technician or other technical records to substantiate its claim.
Commission holds JioFiber liable
Holding the company guilty of deficiency in service and unfair trade practice, the consumer commission directed JioFiber to restore Pratima Chauhan’s broadband connection free of cost.
Additionally, it ordered the company to pay a lump sum compensation of ₹ 10,000, covering both mental harassment and litigation costs. The order directs JioFiber to comply within 45 days of receiving the certified copy.
