RailEnquiry

The Indian Railways has been asked by a consumer forum here to pay Rs 10,459 to a 73-year-old man as compensation for issuing him a ticket for a wrong date. A District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum said the railway authorities cannot blame the elderly traveller for not checking the date of journey and asked the concerned officials of the Northern Railway and the Old Delhi railway station to pay the amount to the Delhi resident. "When there is glaring and palpable negligence on the part of booking clerk, merely because a senior citizen at the ticket counter, where there is always a rush, could not notice the mistake on the part of booking clerk, it is no answer to the negligence of the booking clerk ..., contributory negligence is no defence to the claim of the complainant." "In our considered opinion, ends of justice will be met if opposite parties (Old Delhi railway station and Northern Railway) are directed to refund the amount of wrongly issued ticket dated June 19, 2009 for which complainant (Ramesh) had paid Rs 459 and some compensation should be awarded. "Accordingly, we direct the opposite parties to refund the amount of Rs 459. Further, they are also directed to pay an amount of Rs 10,000 to the complainant towards compensation and cost," the bench presided by Babu Lal said. In his complaint, Delhi resident Ramesh had said he had booked three tickets for his journey from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Ashok Nagar on April 14, 2009 and then for onward journey from Ashok Nagar to Haridwar on April 16, 2009 and return journey from Dehradun to Hazrat Nizamuddin on April 19, 2009. The return ticket issued to him, however, was for June 19, 2009 instead of April 19 and he found it out on the date of journey, he said adding as a result of which he had to face much inconvenience in getting back to Delhi. The Railways had contended in their defence that as he had failed to check his tickets, therefore he is responsible for his own sufferings.