Railway passenger to get compensation

Vadodara, Jan 28 (UNI) A consumer court today asked the Indian Railways to pay Rs 11,500 as compensation to a complainant, whose luggage worth Rs 6,500 was stolen from a reserved compartment.

Bipin Pandya, a resident of Vadodara, had travelled from Varanasi to Vadodara on a return reservation ticket with his wife and a friend. During the journey, their bag containing valuables worth Rs 6,500 was stolen from the reservation compartment.

Mr Pandya lodged a complaint with the railway police, but to no avail. Then he decided to go to the consumer court and filed a case for compensation.

The court gave the ruling in favour of Mr Pandya and asked the Indian Railways to pay Rs 6,500 for the monetary loss and Rs 15,000 for mental torture.

In its order, the court ruled that a railway passenger is a customer and it is the Railways' responsibility to protect its luggage in a reserved compartment.

The Indian Railways appealed against the ruling in the State Consumer Protection Board, which upheld the order of the consumer court but, reduced the compensation for mental stress to Rs 5,000.

UNI HT NM SHB ND1745