India, Feb. 9 -- From scissors to the Supreme Court, a seven-year-old dispute over a haircut at a five-star hotel ended with the apex court trimming down a Rs.2 crore compensation award to Rs.25 lakh. The court set aside an order of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) awarding Rs.2 crore as compensation to a model who alleged loss of career opportunities after a bad haircut at the ITC Maurya Hotel in Delhi, holding that her claims were unsupported by reliable and admissible evidence.

A bench of justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan ruled that the complainant had failed to prove any concrete loss of modelling assignments, film roles, or income attributable to the haircut. It directed that Rs.25 lakh, already disburse...