State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission
Chief Station Manager , South East ... vs Smt.Savitri Devi & Ors. on 10 January, 2020
CHHATTISGARH STATE
CONSUMER DISPUTES REDRESSAL COMMISSION,
PANDRI, RAIPUR (C.G.)
Appeal No.FA/19/491
Instituted on : 12.07.2019
01. Chief Station Manager,
South East Central Railway, Rajnandgaon,
Tahsil and District Rajnandgaon (C.G.)
02. Chief Commercial Manager,
South East Central Railway,
Bilaspur (C.G.)
03. Senior Divisional Commercial Manager,
South East Central Railway,
Nagpur (Maharashtra) ... Appellants/Opposite Parties
Vs.
01. Smt. Savtiri Devi, Age 75 years,
W/o Vikramaditya Tiwari.
02. Vikramaditya Tiwari, Age 80 years,
S/o Ramlagan Tiwari.
03. Aditi Tiwari, Age 15 years,
D/o Rakesh Tiwari.
04. Aditya Tiwari, Age 11 years,
On behalf of the respondent No.03 & 04 Guardian
Grand Father Vikramaditya Tiwari.
All resident of Princes Pride, Quarter No.402,
Block No.A, Hariom Nagar,
Rajnandgaon, Dist.t Rajnandgaon (C.G.)..... Respondents /Complainants.
PRESENT :
HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE C.B. BAJPAI, PRESIDENT
HON'BLE SMT. RUCHI GOEL, MEMBER
COUNSEL FOR THE PARTIES:
Shri R.K. Shukla, Advocate for the appellants/OPs.
Shri H.L. Patwa, Advocate for the respondents/complainants.
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ORDER
DATED : 10/01/2020 PER :- HON'BLE SHRI JUSTICE C.B. BAJPAI, PRESIDENT.
The appellants/OPs had filed this appeal being aggrieved by the order dated 06.06.2019, passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Rajnandgaon (C.G.) (in brevity "District Forum") in Complaint Case No.233/2018 whereby and whereunder the concerned District Forum, has allowed the complaint filed by the respondents/complainants and directed the appellants/OPs to pay compensation and granted other reliefs to the respondents/complainants, as per para 13 of the impugned order.
2. At the outset, learned counsel for the appellants/OPs would submit that undisputedly for 06.05.2018, the respondents/complainants had booked ticket in the Gondia-Barauni Express for performing their journey from Rajnandgaon to Chhapra. The respondents/complainant get themselves reserved from the office of the O.P. No.1, thereafter as there was change in the schedule for the operation of the said train and under the changed schedule now the said train instead of going through Rajnandgaon passed through Bilaspur, the nearest Railway station from Rajnandgaon and it was broadly published in the local news paper and also in the loud speaker and also informed at the Rajnandgaon railway station under The Railways Act, 1989 and as per Refund Rules applicable the passengers were informed that if they wish, they may cancel their tickets and get refund within time limit by submitting an application in the prescribed format at the reservation counter or they may travel from // 3 // Rajnandgaon upto Bilaspur in some other train after getting permission by the authorities and thereafter to board in the said train from Bilaspur instead of Rajnandgaon and may continue their journey upto their destination, but the respondents/complainants never submitted any cancellation form for the refund of the ticket fare or not opted for their journey by another train from Rajnandgaon upto Bilaspur and thereafter in same Gondia-Barauni express upto Chhapra. They never informed that they are not travelling in the said train, not taken refund, not cancelled their tickets and also there is no any document to show that they travelled in another alleged train N.T.V. Express on 10.05.2018. Only for the first time they gave notice dated 11.05.2018 and thereafter gave another notice through their counsel dated 15.06.2018. With this, they are not entitled for reliefs claimed and granted by the concerned District Forum and as the reservation/cancellation is performed in a single form, they had allegedly got themselves reserved in another N.T.V. Express for 10.05.2018, but not get their tickets cancelled for their journey in Gondia- Barauni Express and also as there is no any document for performing journey by another train. The respondents/complainants utterly failed to prove their case and as per Refund Rules and the provisions of The Railways Act, 1989 they are not entitled for any amount, hence the concerned District Forum committed mistake of law and facts. The appeal filed by the appellants/OPs may be allowed and the impugned order passed by the concerned District Forum, may be quashed.
3. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents/complainants would submit that on 06.05.2018 when the respondents/complainants reached to // 4 // the Railway Station, they came to know that Gondia - Barauni Express is not running as per schedule and it is diverted through Bilaspur. When they attempted to get a refund form from office of the O.P. No.1, the said form not made available, hence they were unable to get refund of the said reservation amount. They are asked to contact with the Divisional Office. Thereafter they got themselves reserved in another train and under the compulsion get ticket of Rs.6,760/-, which was in excess with the ticket of reservation in Gondia-Barauni Express, hence the concerned District Forum has rightly allowed the complaint and granted reliefs to the respondents/complainants, hence the appeal filed by the appellants/OPs may be dismissed. The impugned order passed by the concerned District Forum, may be affirmed.
4. We have perused the impugned order dated 06.06.2019 passed by the concerned District Forum in Complaint Case No.233/2018 and record of the concerned District Forum.
5. As facts for the reservation of the respondents/complainants in Gondia-Barauni Express for their journey from Rajnandgaon upto Chhapra on 06.05.2018 is undisputed as the respondents/complainants had filed photocopy of the tickets, but there is no any document showing the actual journey performed on 10.05.2018 in N.T.V. Express. Reason best known to the respondents/complainants as to why they had not filed photocopy of the said tickets worth Rs.6,760/-. With this, there is no any admissible evidence regarding the journey of the respondents/complainants on 10.05.2018 in another train. This piece of evidence has to be proved only by the documentary evidence, for that oral // 5 // evidence is unacceptable. As a settled law the fact which has to be proved by the documentary evidence, cannot be proved by oral evidence. With this, we are of the view that the respondents/complainants travelled in N.T.V. Express on 10.05.2018, is not proved as required under the law.
6. The next contention of the respondents/complainants was that they were not given cancellation form. This contention cannot be accepted, because the respondents/complainants booked their first reservation from reservation counter and the same counter also works for refund/cancellation of the tickets. When allegedly, the respondents/complainants are taking reservation in another Express Train why they do not get their first ticket cancelled or why they had not requested for the refund, as the said train was rescheduled, goes to show that this is an afterthough and not admissible, only on 11.05.2018, after five days of scheduled journey, they were praying for the refund of money. As per refund rules/cancellation, reserved ticket passenger has to apply for refund before the schedule time. In the present matter, the respondents/complainants were asking for the refund after five days of the scheduled journey, which is unacceptable under the refund rules. Also if they could not travel in another train from Rajnandgaon to Bilaspur, they were well under the authority to get the amount of tickets refund. We are of the view that after 06.05.2018, money cannot be refunded back under the rules and also there is no any admissible evidence whether the respondents/complainants purchased another ticket for their journey in N.T.V. Express on 10.05.2018, goes to show that initially the respondents/complainants were negligent for not getting refund as per // 6 // rules on 06.05.2018. It cannot be held that they were asked to contact the Divisional Office. Had they submitted refund form on 06.05.2018 and if the office of the O.P. No.1 gave in writing to contact with the Divisional Office, then only their claim was justified, but in the present matter, if they are getting themselves reserved by the Office of the O.P. No.1, there is no reason as to why their tickets cannot be cancelled and money be refunded in case of change of operation schedule of Gondia-Barauni Express.
7. On appreciation of the entire matter, we are of the view that the concerned District Forum, had not considered the above facts and provisions of law and wrongly allowed the complaint of the respondents/complainants, which requires interference from our side.
8. Consequently, we hereby dispose off the appeal as follows :-
(1) The appeal filed by the present appellants/OPs, is hereby allowed.
(2) The impugned order dated 06.06.2019, passed by the concerned District Forum, in Complaint Case No.233/2018, is hereby quashed.
(3) The parties to this appeal shall bear their cost of this appeal themselves.
(4) The appeal is thus allowed.
(Justice C.B. Bajpai) (Smt. Ruchi Goel)
President Member
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