Consumer Court Orders Railways To Pay Rs 20,000 For Denying Confirmed Seats To Passengers

In Ravi Shanker Pandey v. North Central Railway & Ors., the Bhojpur District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed the Railways to compensate passengers who were denied their reserved seats despite holding confirmed train tickets.

The dispute arose after four passengers travelling from Vindhyachal to Ara on the LTT Patna Express boarded the train and discovered that their confirmed berths in coach B4 were already occupied. According to the complaint, the persons occupying the seats claimed to be railway employees.

Despite repeated requests and attempts to seek help from railway authorities, the passengers allegedly did not receive any assistance. They were ultimately forced to complete the journey standing. Complaints made through Railway Seva and Rail Madad also did not provide any effective relief.

The Commission, comprising Krishna Pratap Singh (President) and Kamal Kishore Singh (Member), observed that the passengers suffered “mental, physical and economical harassment” due to the failure of the Railways to provide the allotted seats despite confirmed reservations.

The order stated that the complainant and his companions were unable to secure their reserved berths even after approaching the railway department through multiple channels. The Commission held that this clearly amounted to deficiency in service on the part of the North Central Railway and the Ministry of Railways (Railway Board).

During the proceedings, the Railways opposed the complaint and argued that the matter related to law and order issues, which fell under the jurisdiction of the Government Railway Police rather than railway authorities. They also contended that there was no deficiency in service and claimed that action had already been taken on the complaint.

However, after examining the evidence placed on record, the Commission rejected the Railways’ defence and concluded that the passengers had indeed faced harassment because they were deprived of the seats for which they had valid confirmed tickets.

The Commission directed the North Central Railway and the Ministry of Railways to refund the ticket booking amount of ₹1,876.80 along with 8 per cent annual interest. In addition, it awarded ₹20,000 as compensation for harassment and ₹15,000 towards litigation expenses.

The Commission further clarified that if the payment is not made within 60 days, the amount would carry 10 per cent annual interest until recovery.

Advocate VN Sachchu appeared for the complainant. Advocate Sanjay Kumar represented the North Central Railway and the Ministry of Railways, while Advocate Pratima Singh appeared for East Central Railway.