Terms and Conditions

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") govern the Guest's access to and use of the Platform, all services offered by the Company, and every booking made directly or indirectly with the Company. By accessing the Platform, submitting an enquiry, confirming a booking, or making any payment (including token advance), the Guest unconditionally accepts these Terms in their entirety, together with the Refund Policy and Privacy Policy, all of which are incorporated herein by reference.

If the Guest does not agree to any part of these Terms, the Guest must not use the Platform or avail any Service.

2. Definitions

• "Booking" — any reservation of a Package, service, or component confirmed by the Company following payment of Booking Advance;
• "Guest" / "Traveller" — the individual or entity booking any Service, whether for themselves or on behalf of others;
• "Package" — any pilgrimage, yatra, heritage walk, day-tour, multi-city circuit, festival tour, boat ride, cab service, or other composite travel product;
• "Platform" — www.satmarg.com, the admin portal, and any application, WhatsApp number, or customer care telephone operated by the Company;
• "Supplier" — any third-party hotel, transport operator, boat operator, temple trust, priest, guide, vendor with whom the Company contracts;
• "Service" — any product, experience, consultation, or deliverable offered.

3. Booking Acceptance and Pricing

3.1 Booking Confirmation

A booking is confirmed only when: (a) the Guest has paid the Booking Advance as specified; AND (b) the Company has issued a written confirmation (email/WhatsApp) stating "Booking Confirmed" with a unique reference number. Email auto-responses, payment receipts, or verbal assurances do not constitute booking confirmation.

3.2 Right to Decline

The Company reserves the absolute and unqualified right to decline or cancel any booking at any stage, for any reason, including without limitation: unavailability, incomplete or inconsistent information, suspected fraud, identity misrepresentation, chargeback history, prior breach, pricing errors, suspicion of non-bona-fide purpose. In case of decline, the Company shall refund any amount received after deducting payment gateway charges.

3.3 Pricing

• All prices quoted are indicative until booking is confirmed;
• The Company reserves the right to revise pricing without notice prior to booking confirmation;
• Once confirmed, the agreed price is binding, subject to 3.4 and 3.5 below;
• Prices are inclusive of all applicable taxes and levies under Indian law.

3.4 Pass-Through Cost Increases

The Company reserves the right to pass on increases in (a) government-imposed taxes, levies, duties; (b) fuel surcharges; (c) hotel rate revisions imposed by the property after booking confirmed; (d) temple access fees revised by the temple trust; (e) airline/railway fare changes where tickets are yet to be ticketed. The Guest shall pay such increases within three (3) days of notification, failing which the Company may cancel and retain Booking Advance.

3.5 Manifest Pricing Errors

Where the price displayed is a manifest error (decimal misplacement, zero-price, pricing inconsistent with market norms), the Company reserves the right to refuse the booking and refund amounts received. The Guest shall have no claim arising from such manifest error.

4. Itinerary and Service Delivery

4.1 Right to Substitute

The Company reserves the right to substitute, modify, or alter any component of the Package — hotel, transport class, sequence, meal venue, boat operator, or guide — with an equivalent or superior substitute, without prior consent, where: (a) the contracted Supplier becomes unavailable; (b) a temple or site becomes inaccessible; (c) the substitute improves the Guest's experience in the Company's reasonable judgement; (d) Force Majeure applies. No refund or compensation shall be payable on account of such substitution.

4.2 Itinerary Timings

All timings are indicative. Minor deviations (±60 minutes per activity) shall not constitute breach.

4.3 Site Restrictions

Access to certain temples and shrines may be restricted by the respective temple trust. The Guest's inability to access any site due to personal non-compliance shall not give rise to any refund or liability.

5. Traveller Responsibilities and Warranties

5.1 Identity and Travel Documents

The Guest shall provide true, complete, accurate information at booking; carry valid government photo ID at all times; obtain all necessary visas and permits; inform the Company at booking of any senior citizen or PwD concession claim.

5.2 Medical Fitness

The Guest represents they are in adequate physical and mental health; shall disclose in writing at booking any pre-existing medical condition, allergy, disability, pregnancy, or medication regime that may affect participation; shall carry all personal medications. The Company is not a medical provider. Failure to disclose a material medical condition shall at the Company's sole discretion void the booking without refund.

5.3 Code of Conduct

The Guest shall: treat all staff and fellow-guests with respect; dress appropriately for temples (shoulders and knees covered); refrain from smoking inside vehicles or temple premises; refrain from alcohol or intoxicating substances in or around religious sites; obey temple protocol; not solicit or proselytise; maintain reasonable hygiene.

The Company reserves the right to immediately expel any Guest for breach, without refund, and the Guest shall bear the cost of their own onward travel.

5.4 Personal Property

The Guest is solely responsible for custody of personal belongings, money, passport, jewellery, and electronic devices. The Company is not liable for loss, theft, damage, or destruction.

5.5 Assumption of Risk

Pilgrimage travel in Varanasi involves known risks — crowded spaces, uneven stone steps, wet ghats, stray animals, monsoon flooding, air and water variations, street traffic, heat exposure. The Guest expressly assumes these risks.

6. Insurance

The Guest shall, at the Guest's own expense, obtain and maintain comprehensive travel insurance covering trip cancellation, medical emergency, evacuation, baggage loss, Force Majeure, and public liability. The Company does not sell insurance, does not recommend specific insurers, and is not liable for any claim, coverage gap, or denial by an insurer.

7. Photography, Media, and Intellectual Property

7.1 Company's Use of Guest Imagery

The Guest consents to the Company photographing, video-recording, and documenting the Guest during the Package for use in marketing, website, social media, and promotional materials in perpetuity, without further consent or compensation. The Guest may withdraw consent by written notice; however, materials already published need not be removed.

7.2 Platform IP

All content on the Platform — text, images, videos, logos, itinerary designs, briefing documents, editorial copy — is the intellectual property of the Company, protected by the Copyright Act, 1957. The Guest shall not copy, reproduce, republish, scrape, or create derivative works. Violation may be pursued civilly and criminally.

7.3 User-Generated Content

Where the Guest submits reviews, photos, or testimonials, the Guest grants the Company a perpetual, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable licence. The Guest warrants ownership.

8. Third-Party Services

For certain components (hotel stays, cab transport, boat operation, temple reservations, flight or rail tickets), the Company acts as a booking coordinator procuring services from third-party Suppliers. The Company shall not be liable for: Supplier's negligence, default, breach; hotel overbooking; transport delay or accident; boat capsize or equipment failure; food quality, allergy, or food-borne illness; temple personnel's conduct; guide's misstatement; or any act of a Supplier beyond the Company's direct control. The Guest's recourse for Supplier's acts is directly against the Supplier.

9. Limitation of Liability

The aggregate liability of the Company in respect of any claim, regardless of legal theory, shall not exceed the net amount actually retained by the Company in respect of that specific booking (net of taxes paid, gateway charges, and sums forwarded to non-recoverable Suppliers).

In no event shall the Company be liable for: loss of profit or business; loss of enjoyment or spiritual fulfilment; loss of reputation; emotional distress or disappointment; loss of ancestral karmic benefit (howsoever claimed); consequential, indirect, special, punitive, exemplary, or incidental damages.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any rights that the Guest has under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 that cannot lawfully be excluded.

10. Indemnity

The Guest shall indemnify and hold harmless the Company and its agents against any claim, loss, damage, liability, penalty, cost, or expense arising out of: the Guest's breach of these Terms; the Guest's negligence, wilful misconduct, or unlawful act; damage caused by the Guest to hotel, vehicle, boat, or temple property; any third-party claim arising from the Guest's conduct; fraudulent information; breach of Indian law.

11. Communications and Consent

The Guest agrees to receive all notices, confirmations, itinerary revisions, billing, and correspondence by email, SMS, or WhatsApp. Such electronic communications constitute valid "writing" for all legal purposes. By booking, the Guest consents to occasional marketing communications; opt-out available at [email protected].

12. Force Majeure

The provisions of the Refund Policy Clause 7 (Force Majeure) are incorporated herein by reference and shall apply mutatis mutandis to these Terms.

13. Grievance Redressal

Any grievance, complaint, or dispute must be raised in writing to:

• For: Bytechakra (trading as Satmarg)
• Role: Grievance Officer / Customer Escalation
• Email: [email protected]
• Phone / WhatsApp: +91 77680 98790
• Working hours: Monday to Saturday, 10:00–19:00 IST

Grievances must be raised within seven (7) days of the event, failing which the Guest shall be deemed to have accepted the Service without demur. The Grievance Officer shall acknowledge within forty-eight (48) hours and endeavour to resolve within thirty (30) days. The Grievance Officer also serves for purposes of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

14. Dispute Resolution, Jurisdiction, Governing Law

Arbitration. Any dispute not resolved through the grievance mechanism shall be referred to a sole arbitrator appointed under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. Seat and venue: Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Language: English.

Courts. The Courts at Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh shall have exclusive jurisdiction. The Guest irrevocably submits and waives objections based on forum non conveniens.

Governing Law. Laws of the Republic of India.

15. Miscellaneous

Amendment. The Company may amend these Terms at any time by publication on the Platform. The Guest is responsible for reviewing the current version.

Assignment. The Guest shall not assign. The Company may freely assign to a successor or affiliate.

Severability. If any provision is held invalid, the remainder shall continue.

Entire Agreement. These Terms, together with the Refund Policy and Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement.

No Agency. Nothing creates any partnership, joint venture, employment, agency, or fiduciary relationship.

Waiver. No delay or failure shall constitute a waiver.

16. Acknowledgement

By booking any Service, the Guest acknowledges:

• They have read and understood these Terms in their entirety;
• They have had reasonable opportunity to seek independent legal advice;
• They accept these Terms voluntarily, without duress or misrepresentation;
• These Terms represent a fair and reasonable allocation of risk between a commercial travel coordinator and a voluntary pilgrim.