Indian Railways to pay Rs 9 lakh after 2-hour train delay costs student a career year: A landmark UP consumer court order

Girl wins consumer case

Allowing the plea, the forum directed the Railways to pay a compensation of Rs 9 lakh, along with Rs 5,000 towards advocate’s fee and Rs 5,000 as litigation costs, within 45 days.

Background

• The student was scheduled to appear for an entrance examination at Jai Narayan PG College, Charbagh, Lucknow.
• The reporting time for the examination was at around 12:30 pm, while the examination was to be held from 1.30 pm to 3 pm.
• However, the train reached the station only at 1:34 pm, nearly two-and-a-half hours late, due to which the student could not report at the examination centre within the prescribed time and was barred from appearing in the exam.
• Her father filed a suit for Rs 20 lakh compensation in the consumer court, citing mental agony and career setback.

Findings

• A passenger undertakes travel with the legitimate expectation of reaching the destination on time.
• When, for reasons unknown, a passenger fails to reach the destination within the stipulated time, all work stands disrupted and the passenger suffers loss. In such circumstances, where the journey has been undertaken by paying consideration, the responsibility for the loss lies with the service provider.
• The Railways cannot justify the delay in the arrival of a train merely on the basis of technical faults or other technical reasons.
• Railways is liable to pay compensation for mental and physical suffering caused by the loss of opportunity, on account of the negligence and deficiency in service on their part, unless the it specifically establishes that the delay in the arrival of the train was not due to its own fault but was caused by circumstances such as adverse weather conditions, natural calamities, signal failure, or similar reasons.
• It is evident that the complainant passed the High School examination conducted by the CBSE Board with 10 CGPA and aspired to secure admission to a reputed university and serve the nation.
• However, due to the negligence of the opposite parties, she was deprived of appearing in the entrance examination, resulting in the loss of a valuable academic year and causing her irreparable harm.
• Consequently, she had to endure severe physical, financial, and mental suffering, for which the opposite parties are liable to pay compensation.