On 10.10.1996,
the complainant Dr. Shobha Agarwal along with her daughter was travelling in a
AC second class sleeper with reserved berth Nos.35 & 36 from Gorakhpur to
Beena by 1016 UP Kushinagar Express. There was lot of disarrangement in the
reserved AC coach and some suspected person was seen snooping here and there
about which a complaint was made to the ticket checker but no action was taken
by him. The same suspected person was again seen in reserved coach at about 2’O
clock in the night. When the complainant woke up at 7’O clock in the morning,
she found that her grey colour suitcase which had been tied under the berth
with the help of chain and lock, was missing from there. As per her allegation
in the complaint, the said suitcase had been stolen by cutting the chain and
lock. Information about the said incident was given to the ticket checker who
after some initial reluctance received the same after being forced to do so by
certain co-passengers but the ticket checker refused to receive the list of the
articles. The complainant brought the incident to the notice of the Railway
Department and Railway Minister by writing letters to the authorities and after
about one year, the railways lodged an FIR in regard to this incident sometime
in the year 1997.
Alleging
negligence on the part of the Railway, she lodged a consumer complaint before
the District Forum praying for compensation of Rs.1.5 lakhs along with interest
@ 12% w.e.f. 10.10.1996, i.e., the date of loss of the valuables along with
Rs.30,000/- by way of compensation on account of mental agony. The complaint
was resisted by the Railways. They denied any negligence on their part and also
submitted that railway administration is not liable for the goods which were
not booked with them. They argued that the doctor was responsible for taking
care of her luggage. They also raised the question of jurisdiction of the
District Forum in the matter, saying that such matter can be heard only by
Railway Claims Tribunal.
The District
Forum, by its Order dated 14.7.2011, allowed the consumer complaint and
directed Railways to pay Rs.1,50,000/- along with interest to the complainant
from the date of filing of the application / complaint till its realization,
and also Rs.50,000/- towards compensation for mental and physical agony and
Rs.1000/- towards the costs of the litigation.
Railways
challenged the Order before the State Commission. The State Commission dismissed
the appeal of Railways.
Thereafter,
Railways filed further appeal before National Consumer Disputes Redressal
Commission (NCDRC) vide REVISION PETITION NO. 602 OF 2013 titled as “Union
of India vs Dr. (Smt) Shobha Agarwal”.
Vide Judgment
dated 22nd July 2013, the NCDRC (Bench of Justice Ajit Bharioke and Mr. Suresh
Chandra) dismissed the Railway’s appeal. The NCDRC relied upon its earlier
judgments in Union of India Vs. J.S. Kunwar [1 2010 CPJ 90 (NC)]; Union of India Vs.
Sanjiv Dilsukhraj Dave [2003 CTJ 196 (CP) (NCDRC); Mrs. Kanthimathi Vs. Govt. of India.
The NCDRC held
as under :
“A major
responsibility cast on the TTE in addition to examining the tickets is that of
ensuring that no intruders enter the reserved compartments…………..This is
certainly a gross dereliction of duty which resulted in deficiency in service
to the Respondents.
The price
difference between the unreserved ticket and a reserved ticket is quite high
and the traveling public who buy a reserved ticket would expect that they can
enjoy the train journey with a certain minimum amount of security and safety.
… One has to
presume that passenger would take reasonable care of his luggage. But, he
cannot be expected to take measures against intruders getting easily into
reserved compartments and running away with goods, when the railway
administration is charged with the responsibility to prevent such unauthorized
entry. We have entered the 21st century and we cannot carry on our daily
life in the same age old fashion with bearing brunt of indifferent service
provided by public authorities like Railways. People expect in the 21st century
a modicum of efficient and reliable service, which provides at least safety of
person and property while traveling in reserved compartments”.
“8.
Undisputedly, the complainant and her daughter were travelling in a
reserved coach and it was the duty of the TTE to ensure that no intruders
entered the reserved compartment. Since apparently there was a failure on the
part of the TTE to prevent entry of unauthorized person in the coach during the
night, the Fora below were right in holding the petitioner liable for
deficiency in service to the respondent in this regard.”
The NCDRC
further held that consumer forum has jurisdiction to hear such matters and that
in Railway Claims Tribunal, only matters relating to booking of parcels in
Railways are heard.
Not satisfied with
the same, the Railways again filed appeal in the Supreme Court of India, vide
SLP (Civil) No.3322/2014. The Supreme Court (Bench of Justice C.K.Prasad and
Justice P.C.Ghose) vide Order dated 31st January 2014 dismissed the Indian
Railways appeal by ordering "The special leave petition is dismissed”.
Thus, the NCDRC’s
order holding the Indian Railways liable to compensate the woman for theft of
her luggage whose luggage was stolen while travelling by train and directing to
pay Rs.2.01 lakh to her, was upheld by Supreme Court.
This is a very
important judgment on the rights of train travelers. One must be aware of this
judgment and exercise his rights accordingly. So, if your belongings or luggage
gets stolen while travelling by train on reserved seat, get complaint / FIR
registered with Railway police at the nearest Railway station (if they refuse
to register, send it by Registered Post to the Superintendent of Police) and
take its copy. If police is unable to recover your luggage for 6 months, then
file a case in consumer forum.
