DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM-II
Udyog Sadan, C-22 & 23, Qutub Institutional Area
(Behind Qutub Hotel), New Delhi-110016.
Case No.240/2009
Sh. Bipin Kumar Srivastava
H-35, Lower Ground Floor,
(front side), Jangpura Extn.
New Delhi-110014 ….Complainant
Versus
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd.
9th Floor, Bank of Baroda Building
16, Parliament Street,
New Delhi-110001 ……Opposite Party
Date of Institution : 01.04.09 Date of Order : 09.02.16
Coram:
Sh. N.K. Goel, President
Ms. Naina Bakshi, Member
O R D E R
Briefly stated, the case of the Complainant is that he had booked an e-ticket for the journey by Indian Railway vide PNR No. 6125055094, train No. 2557 dated 12.03.09 from Gorakhpur to New Delhi. The booking status was RLWL83/RLWL64/000. The payment of fare of Rs.312/- was paid through credit card of his brother Mr. Vijay Kumar Srivastava and he had printed the ticket. When he boarded the train, the Travel Ticket Examiner (TTE ) on board told him that he had no authority to board the train as the ticket had been cancelled by the OP and the refund had been deposited to the paying card. The TTE asked him to pay Rs.547/- against the normal fare of Rs.302/-. At that time, he had no money and he had borrowed some money from his co-passenger who happened to be his friend paid the amount of Rs.547/- (Rs. 297 + Rs. 250) and he was allowed to travel in the train. The OP had not informed him regarding the cancellation of the ticket and till date no refund has been refunded in the account of booking person. The Complainant had stated that the Indian Railway allows the passengers with waitlist to travel without possessing a seat in the sleeper compartments. When he checked the PNR status at the website of the OP the status was showing WL 20. Hence, there is a deficiency in service on the part of OP. The Complainant has prayed as under:
- Direct the OP to pay the price of the fare of the amount of Rs.547/-.
- Direct the OP to pay Rs.1 lakh towards loss of peace and mental agony suffered by the Complainant.
- Direct the OP to change the process of cancelling the ticket without prior and after information to the passenger.
- Direct the OP to pay the cost to the Complainant.
OP in the written statement has stated that they are the agent/intermediary to provide access to the Railway Passenger Reservation through their server and internet connectivity to book ticket through it. Sub-rule 3 of the Rule b provides:-
“Authorization to board the train” - “PNRs having fully waitlisted status will be dropped and names of the passengers will not appear on the chart. They are not allowed to board the train. If full wait listed passengers are found travelling, they will be treated as without ticket and charged as per extant railway rules.”
Sub-rule 3 of the Rule c “cancellation Rules” also clearly states that “fully waited listed E-tickets can be cancelled by the passenger using internet before chart preparation. After chart preparation, it will be cancelled by the Railways and money refunded automatically.”
OP has further stated that a passenger purchasing an e-ticket shall have to abide by the rules printed on the e-ticket. Ignorance or unawareness of above rules cannot at all be a justification to board the train. The OP has prayed for dismissal of the complaint.
Complainant has filed rejoinder to the written statement of OP.
Complainant has filed his own affidavit in evidence while affidavit of Sh. Sunil Tarneja, DGM has been filed in evidence on behalf of the OP.
Written arguments have been filed on behalf of the parties.
We have heard the arguments on behalf of the parties and have also gone through the file very carefully.
Parties have failed to mark exhibit nos. or annexure nos. on their respective documents.
It is not in dispute that the Complainant had booked an e-ticket through the OP from Gorakhpur to Delhi for journey on 12.03.2009 and his ticket was wait listed. The payment of the fare of Rs.312/- was paid through credit card of his brother. The Complainant filed a e-ticket dated 02.03.09 for 12.03.09 (copy annexure-A for the purpose of identification). The Annexure-B relates to the payment made by the Complainant to the TTE. The Annexure-C relates to the current status of the ticket wherein it was mentioned “waiting list 20”.
In view of the above, it is clear that wait listed passengers were not permitted to board the train and that their names will not appear on the chart. They are not allowed to board the train.” During the course of hearing dated 17.09.15, the counsel for Complainant has informed that the Complainant had received the amount of Rs.312/- before filing of the complaint. As the Complainant received the amount before filing of the case, there was no deficiency in service on the part of OP. Accordingly, we dismiss the complaint with no order as to costs.
Let a copy of this order be sent to the parties as per regulation 21 of the Consumer Protection Regulations. Thereafter file be consigned to record room.
Announced on 09.02.2016.
(NAINA BAKSHI) (N.K. GOEL) MEMBER PRESIDENT
Case No. 240/09
09.02.2016
Present – None
Vide our separate order of even date pronounced, the complaint is dismissed. Let the file be consigned to record room.
(NAINA BAKSHI) (N.K. GOEL) MEMBER PRESIDENT
