Indian Railways Directed To Pay 1 Lakh To Passenger For Negligence, Bag Stolen During Journey

The complainant, a passenger, filed a case at the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in New Delhi (Central District) following the stealing of her bag in 2016 by unauthorized passengers.

The Consumer Court reserved an order on the grounds of deficiency and negligence in services on the part of the Indian railway. It directed the General Manager concerned to pay Rs 1 Lakh to the complainant.

The contents of the complaint stated that a bag containing valuables of Rs 80,000 was stolen by unauthorized passengers while the passenger was travelling on a reserved ticket in Malwa Express, between Jhansi and Gwalior.

The commission bench comprising the President of the commission, Inder Jeet Singh and member Rashmi Bansal, established its jurisdiction over the case. The commission stated that the train was boarded by the complainant from New Delhi and had a ‘continuity of journey’ till Indore. Furthermore, the office of the General Manager was situated within the jurisdictional boundaries of the Court.

The Opposite Party in this case, Indian Railways, contended that the Complainant had not undertaken due care and was negligent on her part in taking care of the luggage and valuables. It further stated that the luggage was not booked. The Court rejected such contentions and held that there was negligence and deficiency in services on the part of Indian Railways.

The Court opined that the complainant had made enough efforts to report and claim damages for her luggage. The commission expressed, “The manner in which the episode has happened and valuables were stolen followed by the efforts of the complainant to get the FIR registered with the authorities for appropriate enquiry or investigation, she suffered all kinds of inconvenience and harassment to pursue her legal rights.”

The passengers who stole the bag were present in a reserved coach and were unauthorised or unreserved to be present there. This amounted to negligence on the part of the Railways.

While reserving a judgment, the Court delivered, “Had there been no negligence or deficiency in services on the part of the opposite party or its staff, there would be no such incident. There is no other defence or evidence to deny the value of the articles being carried by the complainant during her journey, therefore, the complainant is held entitled to reimbursement of loss of Rs 80,000.”

The Court also awarded damages amounting to Rs 20,000 for the inconvenience, mental agony and harassment caused to the complainant.

Law Governing Negligence And Deficiency In Services
The negligence and deficiency in services are covered under the ambit of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. It regulates the rights of consumers about unfair trade practices, and violation of consumer rights and protects all such rights.

The Act protects the following rights of the consumers:

• Right to information about quantity, quality, price, purity, standards of goods etc.
• Right to be protected from goods and services dangerous to life and property.
• Right to be protected from unfair trade practices and deficiency of services.

Right to seek redressal.

Steps To Seek Redressal In Such Cases
The following remedies can be availed to seek redressal in such cases:

• Contact the Station Master or General Manager of the Source of Arrival station.
• File a complaint with the railway police.
• In case, the prior two options do not work out, file a F.I.R. with the police station of either where you are a resident or where such theft took place.

Alternatively, you could bring about action against the service provider in a competent Consumer Court of jurisdiction by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019.