Delhi High court refuses relief to fivestar hotel

New Delhi, July 12 (UNI) The Delhi High Court has refused the contention of the capital's fivestar hotel demanding that their name should not be included in the suit which claimed compensation for a victim of sexual assault occurred on its premises.

Justice Badar Durrez Ahmed held that this was not the stage where exemption could be granted to the plaintiffs.This could be decided only at the evidence stage.

A case demanding compensation of 2,00,000 Deutsche Mark was filed by Susanne Lenatz as she claimed that she was a victim of sexual assault on the hotel premises.

Susanne was a flight attendant and was part of German Delegation who chose to stay at the Le Meridian hotel at Windsor Place during their brief stay on the way back from Jakarta in 1996.

While staying there she visited a jewellery shop at the hotel's arcade. There she met Rishant Jain who allegedly lured her to the shop and sexually assaulted her. She complained that Rishant hit her with a statue and assaulted her with a knife.

She filed an FIR against him in which investigation was still pending.

Three years after the incident Linatz filed a suit of compensation making CJ international ,the owner group of the hotel as one of the Party. She made Harjeet Kaur,Chairman and Managing Director of the group'Le Meridian', Rishant Jain and his father Rakesh as a party to pay her the compensation.

The judge on Monday upheld Lenatz's contention that the hotel should have kept up to its standards of the fivestar rating and provided her security as well as assurance against physical harm while inside the hotel.

Lawyer for the hotel Bobby Chandiok argued that they were not directly involved in the incident and they could not be held responsible to face the case only because Lenatz was assaulted on their premises.

Refusing to delete the hotel's name at this stage the court held that their presence would definitely be necessary for the outcome of the decision.

UNI