An advocate practising in the Gujarat High Court has served a legal notice on PVR INOX Ltd questioning the company’s alleged “forcible insistence” on digital or UPI payments at the Palladium Mall multiplex in Ahmedabad city.Advocate Utkarsh Dave raised the consumer law question after he was allegedly told that no cash would be accepted when he visited the multiplex to watch ‘Mirzapur: The Movie’ on September 13.In his legal notice sent to PVR on Wednesday (September 16), Dave has claimed that after being told that he could not pay for his ticket in cash, he had paid Rs 475 by UPI. Later, when he went to buy food and beverages, he was allegedly told again that cash would not be accepted, and he was compelled to pay another Rs 420 by UPI, he has claimed. Copies of both transactions have been attached with the legal notice served on the multiplex chain.The Indian Express reached out to PVR-INOX for a comment, and a formal response was awaited at the time of filing this report. However, a senior official of the company said that cash is not refused “at any time”.Dave has said in his notice that he is not objecting to PVR INOX offering digital payment options such as UPI or credit cards.His objection is specifically against the compulsory exclusion of cash – his argument is that a customer who is ready and willing to pay cannot be left with no choice but to use a payment method that is dictated by the establishment.Dave’s notice refers to Section 26(1) of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 (RBI Act), which recognises RBI-issued banknotes as legal tender throughout India.The notice says that while “the said provision may not, by itself, be construed as imposing an absolute statutory obligation upon every private establishment to accept cash in every conceivable transaction, a complete denial of cash by a consumer-facing establishment raises serious issues of transparency, fairness, prior disclosure, and the manner in which the service is offered to consumers”.Story continues below this adDave has contended that “a consumer may, for perfectly legitimate reasons, be dependent upon cash”, and that “in such circumstances, the blanket refusal to accept cash may effectively place such [a] consumer in a position where he is unable to avail the service or purchase even basic food and beverage items unless he first complies with a payment mechanism unilaterally prescribed by the establishment.”The notice has also invoked the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and asked PVR INOX to clarify whether it has adopted a cashless-only policy and, if so, what is the legal and contractual basis for it.Dave has also asked the company to state whether the policy was prominently and unambiguously disclosed to customers before they proceeded to purchase tickets or refreshments.One of Dave’s specific contentions is that the mere presence of a UPI facility at a counter does not necessarily convey to a customer that cash will be refused altogether.Story continues below this adIf such a restrictive policy exists, he says, it should be displayed prominently at points of sale and communicated to customers in advance, rather than becoming apparent only when a customer attempts to pay in cash.Dave has asked PVR INOX to confirm whether employees at the Palladium Mall outlet were acting under a written company policy, circular, or internal instruction prohibiting cash payments.The notice asks the company to explain, within seven days, what arrangement exists for customers who cannot make digital payments, and whether such customers would effectively be denied the service despite being willing to pay in cash.It says that if a satisfactory response is not received, remedies before the Consumer Commission and/ or the Central Consumer Protection Authority, may be pursued.Story continues below this adThe senior PVR INOX official quoted above told The Indian Express: “All our cinemas are equipped to accept credit cards, debit cards, UPI payments, and cash. At any time, we don’t refuse cash. Cash is accepted at the counter and converted to a fully refundable digital card. After the end of the usage, the leftover cash is refunded at the cinema. There is enough and more communication at the cinema about the same and we educate our customers as well. Palladium Ahmedabad is one of them.”