There have been several instances where the courts have come across cases that are simply laughable and bizarre. Your Legal Career Coach brings you a unique compilation of the weirdest cases of all time. Believe us, they are all true.
1. PRINCE HARRY MARRIAGE CASE
In this case, the petitioner had filed a case against the Duke of Sussex claiming that the Prince had promised to marry her. The Punjab and Haryana High Court dismissed the petition stating that it was nothing but a daydreamer’s fantasy to marry the Prince. It’s our fantasy too.
2. ROCKSTAR FILM MENTAL AGONY CASE
In 2014, a man in Delhi filed a case in the consumer court asking for Rs. 50,000 as he suffered mental agony while watching the movie Rockstar. The court dismissed the case and commented that the man had suffered more loss while filing the case than the movie ticket.
3. FAN MOVIE PROMO SONG CASE
A moviegoer was disappointed because a song ‘Jabra Fan’ that was in the trailer of Shahrukh Khan’s movie, ‘Fan’ was excluded from the movie. The National Consumer Dispute Redressal directed Yash Raj Films to pay 15,000 rupees as compensation to the moviegoer. The Supreme Court has since stayed the order.
4. SOMETIMES DOGS ARE NOT THE ONES BITING
In a bizarre case, a dog owner, named Pintu, was facing a lawsuit because he bit the ear off of a man named Gabbar. In his defence, he stated that Gabbar was harassing his dogs by pelting stones. Were the actions of Pintu justified?
5. AM I ALIVE?
In a bizarre case, a man was assumed dead. Last we checked, it was easy to prove that you are alive. Unfortunately, this man had to go to court for 18 years just to prove his life. The man also kidnapped his uncle’s son so that he would be arrested and hence prove his identity. Talk about doing anything to stay alive.
6. DUDE WHERE IS MY…COW?
A bizarre case where two neighbours quarrelled over the ownership of a cow. To prove the ownership a DNA test of the cows were also carried out.
7. MY FOOT A FOOTLONG SANDWICH!
The US courts dealt with a case where a man was disappointed that his subway sandwich was not footlong but shorter than that. Looks like it was a ‘consumer’ grievance. The man was going to get $520,000 in the settlement, this was dismissed by a judge.
8. ‘COURT JAM’ STARRING MICHAEL JORDAN
A man decided to sue Michael Jordan because Michael looked like him. He also sued Nike because a new Nike advertisement starring Michael had allegedly defamed the man and gave him mental agony.
9. “I’M SORRY IT IS MY FAULT, NOW PAY UP!”
A man working for the city corporation of Lodi, California accidentally hit the corporation’s pickup truck in his own car. He went on to sue the city for damages for his own mistake!
10. MY FEET ARE MY BUSINESS
A man was thrown out of his class because his feet were too smelly. Instead of washing his feet, he entered a 10-year long legal battle and emerged a winner. My feet are my rights, and they cannot be taken away.
11. REDBULL: GIVES NO WINGS
Looks like the “gives you wings” slogan may have created trouble for Redbull because a man was disappointed that the energy drink did not give him wings i.e. make him feel energised. Redbull agreed to an out of court settlement.
12. WHERE IS MY PHOTO?
A wedding photographer denied giving the photos to the bride and the groom even after the payment was made. The court was of the opinion that denial of photos amounts to mental harassment.
13. MARIA SHARAPOVA IN THE WRONG COURT!
A Gurugram resident was aggrieved that a luxury housing project endorsed by Maria Sharapova never took off. A Delhi Court also ordered an FIR against Sharapova on the basis of the complaint made by the resident. Talk about entering the wrong court.
14. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!
In a bizarre case, a parrot named Hariyal was arrested by the police for being abusive. The parrot was trained to abuse the owner’s stepmother. The stepmother filed a complaint of verbal abuse and the parrot was taken into custody or should we say ‘caged’. Looks like someone was fond of ‘Havlena’s Verdict’ by Karel Capek.
15. IS THERE COMPETITION FOR DR. THAROOR?
A judgement written by a judge from the High Court of Himachal Pradesh was so confusing to read because of the use of highly complex vocabulary that the Supreme Court was forced to send the judgement back to the High Court.
16. ITS A SANDAL, NOT A CHAPPAL
In a strange case, the Delhi High Court had to clarify the difference between a chappal and a sandal. The court held that the existence of a back strap is a chappal. The question arose after the government applied a 10% duty on a footwear manufacturer who sold chappals.
17. AXE BODY SPRAY ATTRACTS Women LAWSUITS
A frustrated man sued Axe Body for false advertising because he was misled into believing that the deodorant will get him a girlfriend. He stated that he was using it for 7 years and was still single. Heard of dating apps?
18. HAPPY MEAL MAKES ME ANGRY
A frustrated father in Canada sued McDonalds for advertising their Happy Meals that target children to buy toys. The father complained that he has to spend huge amounts of money on Happy Meal toys for his kids and has to go to McDonalds twice a week.
19. BATMAN SUES BATMAN
There is an ancient oil-producing town in Turkey called Batman. Yes, you read that right. After the commercial success of The Dark Knight movie, the mayor of Batman decided to sue Christopher Nolan for using the word ‘Batman’ without permission.
20. FAIR LAWSUIT AGAINST FAIRNESS CREAMS
A Delhi man was upset that the ‘Fair and Handsome’ cream for men did not make him fair and handsome like Shahrukh Khan promised. He stated that this gave him mental injury. He went on to win 15 lakh rupees in compensation.
YLCC would like to thank Advay Vora for his valuable inputs in this article.
