Sri Shyamal Gupta, Member

Present Appeal emanates out of the Order dated 30-10-2015 passed by the Ld. District Forum, Kolkata – II (Central) in C.C. No. 152/2015 whereof the complaint has been allowed. 

Brief facts of the complaint case are that during his train journey from Bhopal to Howrah by Shipra Express on 15-02-2015, two suitcase containing valuables of the Complainant like gold earring, gold chain, mangal sutra (made of gold)  etc. got stolen.  Complainant lodged FIR in this regard with Howrah GRP.  However, the stolen articles have not been recovered. Advocate’s notice to the OPs also did not yield any fruitful result.  Holding the OPs responsible for his misfortune, the complaint has been filed.

OPs contested the case by filing WV.  It is stated by the OPs that the said train, in course of its journey, is manned by onboard ticket checking staff of different zonal Railways besides the staff of Eastern Railway.  Therefore, the OPs were not in a position to verify the contention of the Complainant in respect of non-availability of onboard ticket checking staff in the train during the entire run of the train from Bhopal to Howrah.  In any case, if the Complainant indeed noticed any unauthorized entry inside the train compartment, according to the OPs, he could lodge complaint by sending SMS to the dedicated mobile no. for this purpose.

Decision with reasons

Heard the Ld. Advocates of both sides and perused the material on record, including the citations referred to in this regard.

It is the case of the Appellants that the subject train is manned by the onboard ticket checking staff of different Zonal Railways during its course of journey from Bhopal to Howrah.  Since the Respondent did not include those Railways, the allegation could not be verified.

Aforesaid contention of the Appellants hardly holds any water given that nowadays contact nos. of passengers are put into the system at the time of making reservations. Therefore, it was only a matter of few phone calls to some of the co-passengers of the Respondent that would anyway bring everything under the sun.    Further, the Appellant could also get in touch with its counterparts seeking due clarification in the matter. The old saying goes, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way”.  Clearly, the Appellants lacked due wherewithal to know the bitter truth, lest its own lacunae gets exposed. 

Unfortunate though, indifference of Indian Railways towards passenger comfort has almost become the stuff of legend. Trespassing inside reserved compartments at night or non-availability of Railway personnel, including RPF, whenever the trains pass through some specific areas of the country is an open secret.  Barring few notable exceptions like Rajdhani Express, Duranto Express, passengers of all other trains are subjected to this hard reality everyday simply because of the  ‘don’t care’ attitude  of the mandarins of Indian Railways. What is hidden is meant to be disclosed; denial does not change reality. 

In view of this, we see no reason whatsoever to discard the allegation of the Respondent as a concocted story. 

Now, coming to the simple solution prescribed by the Appellants that the Respondent could lodge complaint to the dedicated no. of the Railways earmarked for this purpose, we find that the Appellants themselves have not furnished any documentary proof to show that they left no stone unturned to aware general public of this facility. In any case, why should a passenger unnecessarily invite the wrath of unauthorized passengers by making phone call to the given number in their presence, thereby putting in danger the lives of their family members and self.  It is the sacrosanct responsibility of TTEs and RPF personnel to prevent unauthorized entry of intruders inside reserved compartments by remaining extremely cautious/vigilant in this regard.  They cannot wash their hands off simply by earmarking a particular phone no. for lodging complaints. They need to pull up their socks and enforce discipline ruthlessly, if they indeed mean business.

Ld. Advocate for the Appellants also argued that theft of personal belongings is a punishable offence u/s 379, IPC.  Since the Howrah GRP is investigating the matter, their statement/evidence was crucial for proper adjudication of the dispute.

We, however, completely disagree with such proposition.  Fact remains that the alleged incident took place within the train compartment while the train was running.  It is the joint responsibility of the Railways and RPF to ensure safety and security of belongings of bona fide passengers.  Therefore, when Advocate’s notice was served upon the Appellants by the Respondent, it was the utmost responsibility of the Indian Railways as a whole and the Appellants in particular to cause decent enquiry in respect of the complaint of the Respondent.  However, as it appears, the Appellants were more interested to find fault with the complaint of the Respondent on technical grounds, rather than alleviating his grievance by taking meaningful steps. 

In view of this, we are fully in agreement with the Ld. District Forum that the Indian Railways as a whole was fully responsible for the misfortune of the Respondent.  Being a part and parcel of the Railways, the Appellants, therefore, cannot shrug off due liability to make good the loss suffered by the Respondent.  However, in the facts and circumstances of the case, we exonerate the Appellants from the liability of paying punitive damage @ Rs. 200/- per day and further penalty amount of Rs. 10,000/- being imposed by the Ld. District Forum.

The Appeal, thus, succeeds in part.

Hence,

O R D E R E D

That the Appeal be and the same is allowed in part on contest.  The impugned order is modified to the extent that the Appellants need not pay the punitive damage amount of Rs. 200/- per day and further penalty amount of Rs. 10,000/-, being imposed by the Ld. District Forum.  Otherwise, the impugned order is fully in order.