The case, which started in 1999, went all the way to the Supreme Court of India, after which the consumer court ruled against Relolay.
New Delhi (News Latest - International Press Agency. August 12, 2022) An Indian citizen and lawyer has won a case against the railways that started 22 years ago for charging him tickets for fare. 20 was charged extra. Tunganath Chaturvedi, a lawyer by profession, was charged Rs 20 extra for two tickets in 1999 at the Mathura railway station in India's northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Ruling in his favour, he ordered the Indian Railways to pay back Rs 20 with interest.
66-year-old Tangnath Chaturvedi, while talking to the British Broadcasting Corporation, said that I have made more than 100 appearances in connection with this case, but the energy and time I have spent fighting this case is not worth it in India. Consumer Courts listen to consumer complaints in terms of services, but they have a heavy case load due to which it often takes years to decide even the most common cases.
Tangnath Chaturvedi, a resident of Uttar Pradesh, was traveling from Mathura to Moradabad in 1999 when he bought two tickets from a ticket booking clerk for Rs 35. i.e. deducted Rs. 90 instead of Rs. 70. When Tangnath Chaturvedi told the clerk that he had deducted more money even then he was not refunded, he decided to contact North East Railway (Gorakhpur) and Booking. They will file a case against the clerk in the consumer court of Mathura. They say that it took them many years in this case because the judicial system in India works very slowly.
He said that the Railways tried hard to get the case dismissed and said that the complaint against the Railways is filed in the Railway Tribunal, which cannot be heard by the consumer court. Chaturvedi says that we have proved from a decision of the Supreme Court in 2021 that this matter can be heard in the consumer court.
He said that the hearing of the case was often delayed because the judges were on vacation. Railways should return the extra Rs 20 taken from Chaturvedi with 12% interest per annum. According to the court order, if the fine is not paid within 30 days, the interest rate will be increased to 15%. Sakta's family tried hard to get him to drop the case, which they said was a waste of time, but Chaturvedi continued to fight the case.
They say that money is not the issue, it was a fight for justice, a fight against corruption, it costs nothing and because I am an advocate myself, I did not have to pay any lawyer or travel to the court. There was no separate expense for these expenses, this matter would have become expensive. He says that he is sure that this case will become an example for others that even if the fight is difficult, there is no need to lose heart.
