The Indian Railways has been slammed by the Supreme Court for running trains late and has been ordered to pay a compensation of Rs 30,000 to a man who missed his flight because of the incident.
A few weeks back, it was Tejas Express that had to pay a compensation of Rs 4.5 lakh to 2,035 passengers. Many were stranded as the train arrived late at New Delhi Railway Station on Saturday and Sunday.
Why Indian Railways Have To Pay A Compensation?
A bench of Justices MR Shah and Aniruddha Bose noted that, if the Railways failed to explain why a train was delayed, it would be liable to compensate the passengers if they filed a deficiency of service complaint before a consumer forum, as per a Times of India report.
“These are the days of competition and accountability. If public transportation has to survive and compete with private players, they have to improve the system and their working culture. Citizens/passengers cannot be at the mercy of the authorities/administration. Somebody has to accept the responsibility.”
The court stated that passengers’ time is valuable and that Somebody has to accept the responsibility for train delays.
About The Compensation
Aishwarya Bhati, an additional solicitor general, argued that the railways are not liable to pay as there shall not be any liability of the railways to pay compensation for train delays.
She strictly stated that according to Rule 114 and Rule 26 Part-I (Volume-I).
But the Supreme Court upheld the concurrent orders of the district, state and national consumer forums. It granted Rs 30,000 compensation with 9 per cent interest to Shukla a man who missed his flight because of the delayed train.
Who Made The Complaint Against Indian Railways And Why?
Sanjay Shukla, the complainant had a train to catch which was supposed to arrive at 8.10 a.m. on June 11, 2016, arrived nearly four hours late at 12 noon. And so he and his family missed the 12 noon flight from Jammu to Srinagar.
Shukla had no choice but to take a taxi from Jammu to Srinagar for Rs 15,000 and pay Rs 10,000 for a hotel in Srinagar because he had no chance of catching the flight.
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