Odisha district consumer disputes redressal forum on April 18 ordered Indian Railways to pay a penalty of ₹1.3 lakh to a passenger who missed a connecting flight due to a delayed train in 2024.
The district consumer disputes redressal commission in Balangir district on xxx held Indian Railways liable for “deficiency in service” after finding that an unexplained delay of nearly seven hours caused Chandi Prasad Khamari to miss a pre-booked flight and suffer financial loss and mental distress.
According to the complaint filed under the Consumer Protection Act, Khamari had booked tickets for train No. 12129 from Jharsuguda to Howrah on August 23, 2024.
The train was scheduled to depart Jharsuguda at 7.50pm and reach Howrah at 3.55am, allowing a buffer of nearly four hours for a connecting flight to Guwahati at 8.05am.
However, the train departed two hours late from Jharsuguda and reached Kolkata nearly seven hours late, causing Khamri to miss the flight and incur rebooking expenses and other losses.
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Khamari alleged that repeated representations to railway authorities failed to resolve the delay, forcing cancellation of the flight and causing financial hardship, stress and harassment.
Railway authorities contested the claim, arguing that train punctuality is not guaranteed under provisions of the Indian Railway Conference Association (IRCA) coaching tariff and that delays may occur due to operational factors.
They also claimed that certain segments of the journey did not fall under their territorial jurisdiction.
The district consumer forum rejected the claims, holding that the railways constitute a unified public utility service and remain accountable for operational delays unless they prove the delays were beyond their control.
Citing a Supreme Court judgment in Northern Western Railway and Another v. Sanjay Shukla, the forum noted that railway authorities must demonstrate that delays were unavoidable and beyond their control to escape liability.
The consumer forum said the railways showed no evidence to establish that the delay resulted from extraordinary circumstances. Routine maintenance and safety operations cited by the railways were described as part of normal responsibilities and not valid grounds to deny compensation.
“The excessive delay in the train service caused the complainant to miss the flight and resulted in significant loss and mental agony,” the forum said, concluding that the railways were jointly and severally liable for the consequences of the delay.
The forum directed railways to pay ₹20,000 for flight cancellation and rebooking losses, ₹30,000 for mental agony and harassment, and ₹5,000 covering litigation costs.
However, the total liability rose significantly after the railways failed to implement the order within 30 days as directed.
It asked railways to further pay penalties of ₹500 per day for failing to comply with the order within the stipulated time.
With the order reportedly remaining unexecuted for over 200 days, the accumulated penalty increased to approximately ₹1.3 lakh. The passenger received the said amount on April 19.
The consumer forum in its order said that public utility services such as the railways must exercise due diligence to prevent avoidable delays, noting that passengers plan journeys with reasonable expectations of timely arrival.
