Can I claim compensation for mental harassment from a service provider?

Yes — compensation for mental agony and harassment, alongside a refund, is a well-established remedy under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, and consumer commissions across India regularly award it in cases involving airlines, hotels, and other service providers who cause avoidable inconvenience through deficient service.

To succeed, you will need to show that the airline's conduct amounted to a "deficiency in service" — an unjustified cancellation without adequate notice generally qualifies, especially if you were not offered a reasonable alternative or compensation under the airline's own cancellation policy or the DGCA's Civil Aviation Requirements, which set out passenger rights including compensation for cancellations with short notice. It helps your case if you can show the specific event you missed and any losses that resulted, such as a non-refundable booking elsewhere, lost work opportunity, or similar documented consequence.

When drafting your complaint, clearly separate your claims: the ticket refund (if not already given), compensation for the specific financial loss caused by missing your event, and a separate amount for mental agony and harassment caused by the manner of the cancellation. Consumer commissions expect you to justify the compensation amount you're claiming rather than naming an arbitrary large figure, so tie it reasonably to your actual inconvenience and any documented loss.

Before filing a formal complaint, send the airline a written notice through their grievance redressal channel demanding compensation, and register a complaint with the Air Sewa portal (the government's dedicated air passenger grievance platform) as well, since this creates an additional documented complaint trail alongside your consumer commission filing.