Corpn, Railways to cough up ~10K for failing to refund fare of cancelled ticket
Ramkrishan Upadhyay
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, August 2
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission Chandigarh has directed Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and Indian Railway to pay Rs 10,000 to a city resident as compensation for failing to refund the fare of a cancelled ticket. The commission also ordered a refund of Rs 477.70 fare to the complainant along with interest at the rate of 9% per annum.
In his complaint, Bhartendu Sood stated that on November 29, 2022, he had booked two railway tickets through the IRCTC from Gurugram to Chandigarh for December 13, 2022, on a payment of Rs 477.70. When he reached the station, he received a message on the registered mobile number that due to technical reasons, the train will not touch their station Gurugram.
After receiving the message, he had to cancel the plan to travel by train and took a bus on the same day for their destination Chandigarh.
After a week, he sent an email to the IRCTC seeking refund of the fare, but he was informed that it cannot be made as the complainant had not applied for it within 72 hours at the boarding station.
The complainant said as he was a senior citizen and it was not feasible for him to apply for refund at the boarding station. He had rushed to Chandigarh by bus after receiving the message from the OPs.
On the other hand, the IRCTC stated that it only provided access to the Railway Passenger Reservation System through its server and internet connectivity to book the ticket through its website. As soon as the ticket was issued and fare was transferred to Indian Railway, it had no role to play thereafter, the corporation claimed, adding that on the diversion of trains too it had no role to play as it was done by the Railway. The Station Manager, Railway Station, Chandigarh, claimed no connection with the issue.
After hearing of the arguments, the commission observed that the train did not touch the station at Gurugram on the relevant date and time as a result of which the complainant had to travel by bus which caused immense harassment to them. Hence, both the OPs (IRCTC and Railway) could not escape from their liability and the act amounted to deficiency in service on their part, it added. The commission observed that in view of this, the IRCTC and the Railway were directed to refund Rs 477.70 to the complainant along with interest @ 9% per annum. They were also directed to pay Rs 10,000 to the complainant as compensation for causing mental agony and harassment and towards costs of litigation.
