NCDRC asks Railway to compensate passengers for its negligence

The apex consumer commission has directed the North Central Railway of paying compensation to six passengers who were made to travel unreserved despite having reserved berths on Haridwar-bound train, holding it guilty of negligence and deficient service.

A National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission bench headed by Justice V K Jain said the complainants had paid the reservation charges and were entitled to travel on the berths reserved for them which were occupied by unauthorised persons.

The bench, while dismissing Railway's appeal filed against the state commission's order, said if some unauthorised persons had occupied the berths reserved for the complainants, it was for the railway officials to evict them.
 

"The complainants had got berths reserved for them in the train before they reached Kanpur station. The berths having been reserved for them...It was the duty of petitioners (railway officials) to make the said berths available to them. If some unauthorised persons had occupied the berths reserved for the complainants, it was for the petitioners to evict those persons from the reserved berths and make the reserved berths available to the complainants...

"The petitioners were clearly deficient in rendering services to them by not making the reserved berths available to them from Kanpur to Tundla. The passengers, having suffered inconvenience and frustration on account of the berths reserved by them having not been made available to them, are entitled for suitable compensation," the bench said, adding that the railway officials were also negligent.

The bench directed General Manager of North Central Railway, Allahabad Zone and station master of Mahova district in UP to pay Rs 3,000 each to Raksha Diwedi and five others, residents of the same district, as compensation and relief for mental distress along with the cost of litigation of Rs 2,500.

As per the complaint, the complainants had reserved berths in Sangam Express to travel from Kanpur to Haridwar on June 13, 2011 but the seats were not made available to them despite requesting the railway officials.

The complainants claimed that due to this, they fell ill and had to spend Rs 30,000 on treatment and since the Railways declined to compensate them, they approached the concerned district forum.

The railway officials, in their reply, admitted that the complainants had reserved berths but stated that since the participants of a kisan rally had occupied those berths, the seats could not be made available to them till Tundla station.

The railways approached the state commission against the district forum's order where their appeal was dismissed and later moved the apex consumer commission.