Flight refund credited to Goibibo wallet, but passenger didn't get the money: Court orders Rs 1.34 lakh payout

Goibibo has been held responsible for failing to properly refund passengers whose flights were cancelled during the Covid-19 lockdown, with the Himachal Pradesh State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission upholding directions for the travel platform to pay more than Rs 1.34 lakh to a family.

The commission, in its order dated August 19, 2026, upheld the district consumer commission's directions requiring Goibibo to refund Rs 49,107 with 9% annual interest, along with compensation and costs. It also upheld an additional Rs 50,000 award for the platform's failure to honour its GoCash Plus refund-delay promise.

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The passengers had also sought a much higher payout of Rs 4.41 lakh based on the promised Rs 100-per-hour compensation, but the commission rejected that claim as excessive and disproportionate.

Why did the family seek a flight refund from Goibibo?

As per a TOI report, Pankaj Gupta and his family had booked flights from Delhi to Goa on SpiceJet for March 20, 2020, and return tickets from Goa to Delhi on IndiGo for March 25 through Goibibo.

The family paid Rs 57,498 for the bookings. Their Delhi-Goa flight was cancelled on March 19, just a day before the scheduled journey. The passengers opted for a full refund. According to the commission order, SpiceJet later confirmed that Rs 36,944 had been refunded to Goibibo.

The return journey was also cancelled after the Covid-19 lockdown disrupted air travel.

However, the passengers alleged that Goibibo did not return the full amount to them and instead credited the refund to their GoCash wallet.

What did Goibibo argue in the flight refund case?

Goibibo argued that it was only a booking intermediary and had acted in accordance with the Supreme Court's directions and DGCA guidelines applicable to refunds during the Covid-19 period.

The company also claimed that the refunded amount was eventually transferred to the passengers' bank account.

The commission, however, found that Goibibo had failed to provide satisfactory evidence showing that the money received from the airline had actually been refunded to the passengers' bank account.

Consumer commission says Goibibo was responsible for the refund

The Himachal Pradesh State Consumer Commission said Goibibo could not avoid responsibility simply by describing itself as a booking intermediary.

The bench comprising President Inder Singh Mehta and member Yogita Dutta observed that once the refundable amount had been received from the airline, Goibibo was required to ensure that it reached the passengers within a reasonable period.

“The bookings were admittedly made through appellant/Goibibo and the payments made by the complainants were received and processed through the appellant-company,” the commission said.

It added that once Goibibo received the refundable amount from the airline, it had a “legal obligation to ensure that the refundable amount was duly transmitted to the complainants within a reasonable period”.

Was crediting the refund to GoCash wallet enough?

The commission rejected Goibibo's argument that crediting the money to the passengers' GoCash wallet was sufficient to discharge its refund obligation.

It noted that the passengers had originally made the payment online and that there was no evidence showing they had voluntarily agreed to receive the refund in the GoCash wallet.

“The plea of the appellant that the amount was credited to the GoCash wallet of the complainants does not, by itself, amount to valid discharge of its legal obligation to refund the amount,” the commission held.

The bench further noted that there was “no material on record” establishing that the passengers had voluntarily opted to accept the refund through GoCash.

Why did Goibibo have to pay Rs 50,000 for GoCash Plus?

The commission also considered Goibibo's own refund-delay promise. Under its GoCash Plus offer, the platform had promised passengers Rs 100 per hour if a refund was delayed.

SpiceJet had reportedly refunded Rs 36,944 to Goibibo on March 23, 2020. However, the commission found that Goibibo had not produced satisfactory evidence showing that the amount was promptly transferred to the passengers.

The commission therefore agreed with the district commission's decision to award Rs 50,000 for failure to honour the promise.

“Thus, there was a failure on the part of the appellant-company to honour the promise made by it,” the bench said.

It held that the district commission was justified in considering the failure while awarding the additional Rs 50,000.

How much money did the commission order Goibibo to pay?

The commission upheld the following directions against Goibibo:

• Rs 49,107 as refund, with 9% annual interest
• Rs 20,000 as compensation for harassment and mental tension
• Rs 15,000 towards litigation costs
• Rs 50,000 for failing to honour the GoCash Plus promise

The commission also upheld the direction requiring IndiGo to refund Rs 22,760 to the passengers.

Taken together, the monetary directions against Goibibo amount to Rs 1,34,107, excluding the interest component.

Why was the Rs 4.41 lakh compensation claim rejected?

The passengers had sought Rs 4.41 lakh based on Goibibo's Rs 100-per-hour refund-delay promise.

The commission rejected the demand, finding it excessive and disproportionate.

While it agreed that Goibibo had failed to honour the promise and upheld the Rs 50,000 compensation awarded by the district commission, it did not accept the passengers' demand for the much larger amount.

What did the Himachal consumer commission decide?

The state commission rejected both appeals before it, Goibibo's challenge against the district commission's order and the passengers' plea seeking higher compensation.

The district commission's directions were therefore upheld, including the refund, interest, compensation, litigation costs and Rs 50,000 award for the GoCash Plus promise.


Inputs from agencies