A court in Kerala told Indian Railways to pay a passenger ₹60,000. This is because a train was more than 13 hours late and caused the passengers a lot of problems, stress, and money trouble.
On October 18, the Ernakulam District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission decided something. This happened because a man named Karthik Mohan, who has a job at a private company in Chennai, raised a complaint. He works as a deputy manager at a big company in Chennai. He had bought a train ticket from Ernakulam to Chennai for a very important meeting on May 6, 2018. Sadly, the train, number 22640 Alappuzha-Chennai Express, was more than 13 hours late. This caused problems not only for him but also for many other passengers, including students who were going to take the NEET exam and their parents.
Karthik Mohan said that if the train people had told everyone about the delay earlier, passengers could have made other plans. He asked the railway people to give him ₹5 lakh because he thought they didn’t do a good job with their service.
However, the Railways explained that they had a reason for the delay, but they couldn’t tell people in advance because of some rules.
The Railways said that the train was late because they were fixing things at Arakkonam in Chennai. They also mentioned that they sent text messages to all the passengers who had reserved seats, including the person who complained. These messages told them about the delay and gave them other choices for transportation. The Railways also said that passengers could get their money back if they wanted.
After listening to what both sides had to say, the Commission made a decision, “The significance of a passenger’s time is undeniable. The unexpected delay caused substantial inconvenience and distress, particularly to the complainant, who had a pivotal professional commitment. Although the purpose of the journey was not specified at the time of ticket booking, the railways, as a major Public Sector Undertaking, ought to prioritize timely and efficient service. Naturally, the complainant had suffered a lot of inconvenience, mental agony, hardships, financial loss, etc. due to the negligence on the part of the opposite parties. This order is rendered in favor of the complainant, reaffirming the principles of accountability, especially for institutions that form the backbone of a nation’s connectivity and economy.”
