The grandeur of Indian railways hasn’t fadedcompletely but it has lost its charm to some extent. An organization that has been hailed to bethe backbone of the service sector in India is now loathed for beingoverburdened, inefficient and unsafe.
Did you know that laws in India protect you from negligentacts of the railway administration? TheIndian railways network is among one of the largest in the world. People in India trust rail travel as one ofthe safest, fastest and cheapest ways to reach a destination in any part of thecountry. The Ministry of Railwaysmanages the railway administration in India. The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) has provisions to protect the rightsof consumers while travelling by train.
When you purchase a ticket from the railway authorities youbecome a consumer. Therefore, thefacility of transport provided by the railway authorities is a service underthe CPA. You can file a complaint to theconsumer courts for any deficiency of service by the railway authorities. You also have a remedy under what is known asthe Railway Claims Tribunal Act 1987 by means of an application. Section 13 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Actprovides for compensation in case of a deficiency of service. However the scope of this act is ratherlimited. You can appeal to the HighCourt against any decision of the Tribunal. The consumer courts serve to provide an additional remedy to theconsumer. Railways provide the servicesto the passenger for a fixed fare. From the moment you pay for the services,you become a consumer. That is how thescope of Section 2(1)(0) of the Consumer Protection Act covers the facilitiesrelating to transport.
In the context of the CPA, there are several interestingcases relating to the failure of the Indian railways to prevent unauthorisedtravel. It is mandatory that the Railways staff checks the entry of people whotravel illegally “ ticketless travel by passengers to their desireddestination. In Union of India v Manoj H Pathak, the complainant and hisparents took reserved seats in the compartment of Gujarat Express train. It was the case of the complainant, thatabout 15 people entered their compartment at Dadar and were traveling withouttickets. By force, they occupied thereserved seats that belonged to the complainant and his parents. The complainant tried to contact theconductor, police and the ticket collector but the group of hooligans attackedhim. This resulted in fracture of thecomplainant’s vertebral column, thereby leading to permanent disability.
The railway administration’s defense was that law and ordermaintenance was the duty of Ministry of Home Affairs. The National Commission held that thisamounted to carelessness on the part of the railway administration. It was held that it is every consumer’s rightto be unharmed during train journey. Anyperson(s) traveling in an unauthorised way must be subjected to legaltrial. In this case, the railwayadministration was held accountable for negligence in their services and madeto pay compensation to the complainant.
The writer a socialscientist and lawyer has been a senior member for 10 years at the ConsumerCourt in Goa
