Court caseAIR 1997 Del 201

The plaintiff, a German national and a co-pilot with Lufthansa, was staying at a five-star hotel in New Delhi run by the defendant company. He took a dive into the hotel's swimming pool and struck his head against the bottom, suffering severe injuries that left him paralysed. The evidence showed that the pool had been designed and maintained in a way that made diving dangerous: the depth at the point where guests were invited to dive was inadequate, and there was no proper warning. The plaintiff sued the hotel company in the Delhi High Court for damages for negligence.

The Delhi High Court held the hotel company liable. A hotel owes its guests a duty to take reasonable care that its premises and facilities are safe for the use for which they are offered; the higher the class of the hotel and the price it charges, the higher the standard of care that guests are entitled to expect. A five-star hotel offering a swimming pool impliedly warrants that the pool is safe for ordinary use, including diving where diving is permitted. The pool's defects amounted to negligence. The Court awarded substantial damages (reported as Rs 50 lakh) and discussed the circumstances in which exemplary damages may be awarded, observing that a defendant who shows a callous disregard for the safety of those it invites to use its facilities may be visited with damages that also deter.