In Brief
A guest died by drowning in a hotel swimming pool. The hotel had assigned its lifeguard to also work as a bartender. The Supreme Court held the hotel liable for negligence, finding that the lifeguard's dual duties diverted attention from pool supervision, breaching the hotel's duty of care to guests. The hotel's exposure to liability was clear because a dedicated lifeguard is foreseeable and necessary for guest safety. While the National Consumer Commission's compensation award of Rs 62.5 lakh was upheld as appropriate, the Court modified the interest order to run from the date of complaint rather than after six weeks of judgment."
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