Shivangi Prakash-
Published on: August 08, 2021, at 12:13 IST
Supreme Court issued a notice in a Petition brought by the Union of India, appealing an order mandating Indian Railways to pay Rs 40,000 in compensation “for negligence and deficiency in service.”
The compensation was supposed to be given to people who missed their flights owing to a six-hour delay in getting to their destination.
The Ministry of Railways has appealed the National Consumer Dispute Redress Commission’s decision upholding the District Forum’s compensation decision.
While issuing notice to the Respondents, a Division Bench comprising Justices KM Joseph and Ravindra Bhat decided to address the issue of forum jurisdiction and the nature or extent of liability of Indian Railways.
The Bench has issued a notice, subject to the Union of India, through the Ministry of Railways, depositing a sum of 25,000 with the Court’s Registry within four weeks.
The Union of India, through the Ministry of Railways, has contended before the Supreme Court that enforcing the impugned judgment will open a Pandora’s Box, resulting in a flood of litigation and setting a poor precedent for future cases related to refund of fares.
The Indian Railways claim that the delay was beyond their control because it occurred during the journey rather than when the train left its originating station Allahabad, which was on time.
The District Forum, on the other hand, rejected this argument and ordered the Railways to pay the contesting Respondents Rs.40,000.
The Railways’ claim was dismissed by the NCDRC because the Railways might have calculated the delay and passed on the information to the passengers and thus, this constituted negligence and a deficiency in service.
Click here to Read/Download the Order
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