Delhi

East Delhi

CC/409/2015

SHRI VIJAY PRATAP SINGH - Complainant(s)

Versus

INDIAN RAILWAY - Opp.Party(s)

20 Jul 2015

ORDER

DISTRICT CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL FORUM (EAST)

GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI

CONVENIENT SHOPPING CENTRE, SAINI ENCLAVE: DELHI-92

CC No.409/2015:

In the matter of:        

Sh. Vijay Pratap Singh

S/o. Late Sh. Ram KishoreSingh

B - 502, Sector 1,Vaishali – 201 011

            Complainant 

Vs

 

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd.

9^th Floor, Bank of Baroda Building,

16, Parliament Street,

New Delhi – 110 001

Respondent

                                                                                    Date of Admission - 03/06/2015

                                                                           Date of Order  - 28/07/2015

ORDER

 

Poonam Malhotra, Member:

 

 

The brief conspectus of facts of the present complaint are that on 07/05/2015 the complainant booked a ticket for his son who was to visit Delhi from Allahabad on 29/05/2015 in Mahabodhi Express, Train No. 12397 and  PNR No.6440744395 was given to him.  The said ticket was waitlisted and with an apprehension that the ticket might not mature for journey by 28/05/2015, the complainant booked another ticket under the Tatkal Scheme of the Respondent on 28/05/2015 in Mahabodhi Express, Train No. 12397, vide PNR No. 6741841792 for 29/05/2015.  After the booking of the said ticket the complainant alleges to have received an SMS from the respondent that Train No. 12397 has been cancelled and the complainant was directed to get his said ticket cancelled.  The complainant got both the tickets cancelled on 28/05/2015 and had to engage a taxi for the aforementioned journey at Rs.15,000/-.  It is alleged that the complainant did not get the refund for the second/tatkal ticket and upon enquiry he got to know that the said train had not been cancelled in fact.  The Complainant has prayed for refund of Rs.1,850/-, the value of the Tatkal Ticket, Rs.15,000/- being the amount paid by him for the taxi, Rs.50,000/- as compensation for harassment, tension and agony and the cost of litigation.

            In response to the notices issued to the respondent, none put up appearance.No written statement filed by it. Case proceeded exparte against the respondent. 

Evidence by way of Affidavit filed by the complainant in support of his case has not been controverted by the respondent.

 

Heard and perused the record.

 

On perusal of the record it is evident that the complainant had purchased for his son Sh. Akshat Singh through the Online Rail Reservation Facility of the respondent a Tatkal Ticket of Mahabodhi Express, Train No.12397, in Second AC on 28/05/2015 vide Transaction No.100000240392210 for journey from Allahabad to New Delhi on 29/05/2015 and PNR No.6741841792 was given to him.  Total payment made by the complainant was Rs.1,814.94 which includes Rs.1,770/- as the ticket fare and Rs.44.94 as Service Charge for the said transaction.  The complainant has also filed on record the copy of the Screenshot taken from his mobile of the SMS/message sent by the respondent on 28/05/2015 on his mobile phone intimating the complainant about the cancellation of the Train No.12397 by it on 29/05/2015 and with direction to the complainant to cancel his PNR No.6741841792 online to get refund as per Railway Rules.  As directed by the respondent the complainant cancelled his ticket on 28/05/2015 at 23:04:00 hrs vide Cancellation ID No.100000050026083 but no refund was given to him as ids evident from the Ticket Cancellation History filed on record as Paper 6 to the complaint.  Further,  Though the complainant has not filed on record any evidence to substantiate his averment that he had spent Rs.15,000/- for hiring a taxi for his journey from Allahabad to Delhi on 29/05/2015 but the exigency to reach Delhi is established from an uncontroverted fact that he had booked two tickets for his journey on 29/05/2015 from Allahabad to Delhi – first ticket was booked on 07/05/2015 with PNR No.6440744395 well in advance for his journey from Allahabad to Delhi on 29/05/2015 in Mahabodhi Express, Train No.12397 which he got cancelled on 28/05/2015at 10:33:21 hrs when he got to know that the said train has been cancelled by the railways and second ticket was booked by him when he got to know that the ticket booked by him on 07/05/2015 was waitlisted and would not mature he had booked another ticket for  the same train and for the same date i.e.,29/05/2015 under the Tatkal Scheme to ensure that he reaches Delhi on 29/05/2015.   The cancellation and the refund of the value of the ticket booked with PNR No.6440744395 is evident from the Ticket Cancellation History filed on record by him.  In the absence of any specific rebuttal from the side of the respondent the averment made by the complainant that he had spent Rs.15,000/- for hiring a taxi for his journey from  Allahabad to Delhi is, thus, acceptable to us.

It is pertinent to mention here that all the averments made by the complainant have been reaffirmed by him on oath by way of an affidavit in evidence which has not been controverted by the respondent. As such in view of the settled law that uncontroverted evidences cannot be disbelieved, there is no reason for us to disbelieve the evidence of complainant in this regard and it shall be taken as true. 

 

Taking into consideration the detailed discussion and observations made supra, we arrive at an inference that the present case is a clear cut case of deficiency in service whereby the respondent had put the complainant to unprecedented harassment, stress and financial hardship due to the deficient services provided by it.  We allow the present complaint and direct the respondent to pay in all Rs.25,000/- to the complainant which shall include the refund of the value of Tatkal Ticket, the taxi hiring charges, compensation for harassment and costs.

 

Copy of the order to be sent to both the parties as per rules.

 

   (Subhash Gupta)                                        (Poonam Malhotra)                           (N.A. Zaidi)

          Member                                                                       Member                                    President