Will Railway be responsible ?Will Railway be responsible ?((1) Personal luggage of a passenger was stolen 1) Personal luggage of a passenger was stolen

away during journey .away during journey .(2) Neck less of a passenger was stolen away (2) Neck less of a passenger was stolen away

through window of a Railway coach during through window of a Railway coach during journey .journey .

(3) Mr. S was at NDLS station for journey, He could (3) Mr. S was at NDLS station for journey, He could not board the train due to overcrowding , His not board the train due to overcrowding , His briefcase lost at PF in crowd .briefcase lost at PF in crowd .

(4) A person with his family traveling by train , (4) A person with his family traveling by train , water was not available in the coach at all .water was not available in the coach at all .

contd………..contd………..

(5(5) A ) A passenger after alighting from a train, while passenger after alighting from a train, while passing over the railway foot-over-bridge (FOB) passing over the railway foot-over-bridge (FOB) was injured because of the collapse of FOB .was injured because of the collapse of FOB .

(6) (6) While traveling in Railway ,a person sustained While traveling in Railway ,a person sustained injury in his right eye by a stone pelted from out injury in his right eye by a stone pelted from out side, resulted in to the complete blindness of that side, resulted in to the complete blindness of that eye .eye .

(7) A lady passenger traveled in Ist AC From Nagpur (7) A lady passenger traveled in Ist AC From Nagpur to Mumbai. She was assaulted by mob, entered to Mumbai. She was assaulted by mob, entered into train thousands in number, going to into train thousands in number, going to participate in a political function and her personal participate in a political function and her personal belongings were also stolen away .belongings were also stolen away .

contd……contd……

(8) Parking at railway station , contractor charging (8) Parking at railway station , contractor charging higher amount than fixed by the railways . higher amount than fixed by the railways .

(9) Mr. D traveling from KKK to Mumbai by Gitanjali (9) Mr. D traveling from KKK to Mumbai by Gitanjali Exp Train arrived Mumbai 3.30 hrs. late at Exp Train arrived Mumbai 3.30 hrs. late at midnight .midnight .

(10) A Railway employee admitted her wife in (10) A Railway employee admitted her wife in Railway Hospital . Due to negligence of doctors, Railway Hospital . Due to negligence of doctors, she died .she died .

(11) A passenger fell down from a running train .(11) A passenger fell down from a running train .

contd……contd……

(12)(12) A person was traveling by Railway. The train was over A person was traveling by Railway. The train was over crowded , so he was standing near the door. Due to crowded , so he was standing near the door. Due to sudden jerk he lost balance and hit by the home signal.Co- sudden jerk he lost balance and hit by the home signal.Co- passengers caught hold of him so he could not fall from passengers caught hold of him so he could not fall from the train but later on succumbed to the injuries.the train but later on succumbed to the injuries.

(13) A passenger while trying to board the train,slipped down (13) A passenger while trying to board the train,slipped down and sustained injury and died. His wife filed a case before and sustained injury and died. His wife filed a case before RCT for compensation for death and another case before RCT for compensation for death and another case before consumer forum for delay on the part of Railway consumer forum for delay on the part of Railway administration in providing medical help.administration in providing medical help.

contd…….contd……. (14) A Railway passenger was not allowed to occupy his (14) A Railway passenger was not allowed to occupy his

reserved seat , by unauthorized passengers reserved seat , by unauthorized passengers . .

(15) A licensed porter ,while he was pulling a trolley, the (15) A licensed porter ,while he was pulling a trolley, the trolley hit an obstacle on Railway platform. On trolley hit an obstacle on Railway platform. On account of the impact, porter was thrown to the track account of the impact, porter was thrown to the track on which goods train was passing resulting into his on which goods train was passing resulting into his death .death .

(16) Delayed payment of PF to a retired employee.(16) Delayed payment of PF to a retired employee.

NATURE OF RESPONSIBILITIESIMPOSED(CP Act)

EXEMPTED(Sovrn. function)

ADMITTED(Rly Act)

Admitted Responsibility underRailway Act-1989 as carrier.

GOODS PASSENGERS

BOOKED UN-BOOKED

COMPLETE PARTIAL

BONAFIEDUN –

AUTHORISED

COMPLETE RESTRICTED

DISPUTE REDRESSAL AGENCY: RLY CLAIMS TRIBUNAL

Goods & Responsibilities(A) BOOKED: Sec-93:General Responsibility. Sec-99:Responsibility after termination of transit. Exceptions:Sec-93(a)-(i)&Sec-102.

(B) Un-BOOKED : Sec-100:Responsibility as carrier of luggage. -A railway

administration shall not be responsible for the loss, destruction, damage, deterioration or non-delivery of any luggage unless a railway servant has booked the luggage and given a receipt therefore and in the case of luggage which is carried by the passenger in his charge, unless it is also proved that the loss, destruction, damage or deterioration was due to the negligence or misconduct on its part or on the part of any of its servants.

Passengers & Responsibilities

(A) Accident : [Section -124 ] Where in course of working a Railway an

accident occurs :Whether or not there has been any wrongful act ,

neglect or default on the part of Railway administration , resulted into :

Death or Injury of any passenger ,and /or Damage ,deterioration or destruction of goods

owned by Passenger, Would entitled passenger to get compensation .

(B) Untoward incident:[Sec123(c)] I) Commission of a terrorist act, II) Making of a violent attack, commission of

robbery or dacoity ,or Iii) Indulging in rioting, shoot- out or arson, by

any person in or on any train carrying passengers or in a waiting hall ,cloak room or reservation , or booking office or on platform or any other place within the precincts of a Rly station ; or

IV) The accidental falling of any passenger from a train carrying passengers.

Passengers & Responsibilities

Untoward incident & Extent of liability

When in course of working of a Railway Untoward incident occurs: Death or Injury of any passenger ; Would entitled passenger to get compensation , whether

or not there has been any wrongful act , neglect or default on the part of Rly administration .

Except Death/ Injury is the result of :-1) Suicide or attempted suicide 2)Self inflicted Injury 3) Own

criminal act 4) Any act committed by intoxication or insanity 5) Any natural cause of disease ;

Passenger : Includes Railway servant on duty & Platform ticket holder at Platform.

Enquiry by RPF under Rly passengers Untoward incidents (Manner of Investigation)Rule-2003.

Imposed Responsibilities UnderConsumer Protection Act-1986

Under CP Act, any person who purchase the good or hire the service is a consumer and entitled for compensation , if good is found defective or service is found deficient.

Railway as service Provider: Service [ Sec -2 (o ) ] :

Services means service of any description which is made available to potential users and includes facilities in connection with banking, financing, insurance, transport, boarding & lodging, housing – construction ,entertainment, supply of energy etc. but does not include any service free of charge or under contract of personal service .

DISPUTE REDRESSAL AGENCY:CONSUMER COURTS

CONSUMER- COURTSCONSUMER- COURTS

Total Value of Goods & Services and Compensation

DISTRICT FORUM( Up to 20 lakh )

STATE COMMISSION (20 lakh to 1 crore)

NATIONAL COMMISSION (Beyond 1 crore )

TIME : 2 Yrs. From date of cause of action arisen

DISTRICT LEVELDISTRICT LEVEL NATIONAL LEVELNATIONAL LEVELSTATE LEVELSTATE LEVEL

POWER OF APPEALPOWER OF APPEAL

DISTRICTFORUM

STATECOMMISSION

NATIONALCOMMISSION3O days 3O days SC3O days

Rs. 25000 or 50% of compensationWhichever less.

Rs. 35000 or 50% of compensationWhichever less.

Rs. 50000 or 50% of compensation

Whichever less.

PRE - CONDITION FOR APPEAL FOR TRADER /SERVICE PROVIDER

NO FEE FOR CONSUMER TO APPEAL

CPAct and HospitalsCPAct and Hospitals

Where medical services byDoctor or Hospital

rendered free of charge

Where charges are required to be paid by

every body to Doctor or Hospital

Where services of Doctoror hospital are partly

free & partly with charge

No liabilityUnder CP Act

Full liabilityUnder CP Act

Full liabilityUnder CP Act

Registration fee is not charge

Registration fee is not charge

Indian Medical Association Vs V. P.Shantha (AIR1996SC550 : AIR 1995 SCW4463)

EXEMPTION FROM LIABILITIES

A Government can not be made liable for any wrong committed during discharge of its sovereign function.

In welfare state, scope of sovereign functions is restricted to defense of state, administration of justice etc.

Activities such as education, commercial, social, economic, political etc. cannot be said to be related to Sovereign power.

RESPONSIBILITIES &MONETRY BURDEN

Railways liabilities & Judicial Decisions .

Theft of Personal luggage

Mrs J was returning home after retirement by T/N1081 ex Mumbai to Kollam in S3 compartment , She requested TTE to detrain the unauthorized passengers, but he left the coach without taking action .In night ,she found that her luggage and luggage of co- passengers were missing and door of the coach open, She filed a case under CP Act ,the objections of Rly was :

(a) Free luggage, (b) Immunity U/S 100 of Rly Act, and (c) Assessment of stolen luggage is not possible; ORDER : Rly will be liable for deficiency in service [GM C Rly Vs. M Josheph :2003(1)CPR 653 SCDR/Kerla ]

Theft from person

Mr A was traveling with family Mumbai to vasco de Gama by Mahalaxmi Exp.in SL.

Miscreants snatched away golden chain of his wife through window,

No electricity in coach ,ACP not working& No window panes,

Objection of Rly was no liability to protect the personal belongings,

ORDER: Compensation for Rs 32,000 for deficiency of service.

[NCDRC Rev. No-2226-27of 2002 ]

Theft in general coach

Traveling in General - Compartment ,Known fact that no attendant/TTE, Baggage neither booked nor taken care by the passenger. ORDER :No proof of any negligence on the part of Railway so no liablity.

[ Smt. Savitri Awasthi Vs. GM/N Rly 2005(2) CPR 17 (NC) ]

Theft at PF

Mr. S was at NDLS station for journey,He could not board the train due to overcrowding ,His briefcase lost at PF 7 in crowd, Claim for refund of ticket price, for loss & mental agony – total Rs 1,00,000 .Objection of Rlys : Refund permissible as per Rly Passenger (cancellation of tickets & refund ) Rules but no liability for theft & mental agony as immunity u/s 100 Rly Act for theft of personal luggage; ORDER: No compensation .

[ S. Mishra Vs CRB 2004(2) CPR528Delhi ]

Violent attack & Theft in side the train

Mrs. S was traveling in Ac I by Mumbai- Howrah mail ex Nagpur to Mumbai,Several unauthorized persons entered into coach to cover their journey to Mumbai for Ambedker Jayanti ,Assaulted & theft of belongings , On complaint, objection of Rly was :

(a) No liability for theft of luggage U/s 100 Rly Act, and (b) Occurrence took place all of sudden & beyond the control, ORDER : Rly liable, occurrence of such mob violence is recurring

phenomenon every year and widely publicized so it can not be said unforeseen. Compensation Rs-1,41,576 awarded against 9,32,256 claimed ;{Sumati Devi Vs.UOI & ors (2004)6SCC113}.

Violent attack from out side

While traveling in Railway , son of the appellant sustained injury in his right eye by a stone pelted from out side, resulted in to the complete blindness of that eye. First claim before RCT ,filed by mother but rejected as there was no any evidence of mob attack on Railway.It may be a stray incident of stone pelting. HC set aside the order of RCT by holding that single stone throwing incident resulting into injury may come within the preview of un towards incident.1.60 lakh compensation awarded. [Smt.Lekha Barua v/s UOI-AIR2008 Cal 59(DB)]

Dissented with the judgement of Mumbai HC in UOI v/s S.S. Gaikwad- AIR2002Bomb436.

Non availability of water in coach

Water was not available at all in coach. Complainant said he and his family suffered on that account it being the month of May. In spite of complaints nothing was done to repair the broken pipe.Other passengers had also complained. Facts alleged by the complainants were not disputed by the Railway by giving evidence of any Railway staff except denial in its written statement . District Forum held in favour of the complainant and directed Railway to pay Rs.55,000/- as compensation and Rs.1,000/- as cost. Railway went in appeal to the State Commission which upheld the order of the District Forum except that the compensation was reduced from Rs.55,000/- to Rs.10,000/ Revision filed by Railway again rejected by NCDRC.[SE Rly V/S Y.Tiwary –Rev.Petition No.1062/02]

Extra charging by Railway’s contractor

Complainant parked his scooter at the cycle stand of the railway Station at Ludhiana. Parking fee was 50 Paise but contractor was charging Rs-3/. At least, as many as 300 scooters were parked /day. No action was taken by SS and ADRM on written complaint of Complainant. Complainant filed case before District Forum but District Forum rejected the case by observing that-“Charging of Rs.2.50 extra than the prescribed rate is too trivial a matter to be taken note of”.On appeal State commission, held the Railway Administration jointly and severally liable to pay to the complainant Rs.15,000/- as compensation and Rs.2,000/- as costs.NCDRC rejected the revision petition of Railway and observed that the District Forum rather appreciating the action of the complainant, coming before it and taking cudgels on behalf of general public who normally shy away, made fun of him .

NCDRC/NDLS- REV. NO. 2231 / 2000 UOI v/s R.L. Agrwal

Late running of train

Mr. D traveling from KKK to Mumbai by Gitanjali Exp, Train arrived Mumbai 3.30 hrs. late at midnight due

engine failure en route, Claim for : mental agony & excess expenses at

station & locating the destination , Objection of Rly- Timely running of train not

guaranteed, Compensation allowed of Rs 5000 by District Forum, On appeal State Commission set aside the order by

observing that unless there is positive dereliction constituting negligence, Rly will not liable;

[G.M. /E RLY Vs. M/S CONSUMER GUIDENCE SOCIETY : 2002(3) CPR 334 CALCUTTA]

Late running of train & Negligence A was traveling by2960(Jaipur-Chennai /SF Exp), Train arrived at Nidubrolu Stn at 4am but remained halted

here up to 9pm, due to derailment of Goods Train. After 9 pm train diverted through another route and

thereby delayed arrival at destination by 45 hrs. Relying on decision of NCDRC:1993CPJ-II/p54, Rly

objection was –delay in departure/arrival can not be termed as deficiency, and Delay was due to unforeseen circumstances.

District commission: No justification with Rly for taking 19 hrs in taking decision for diverting the train while some other trains arrived subsequent to present train diverted within shortest period. Out of claim of Rs50,000+50,000 allowed only Rs 25,ooo+10,000.

On appeal- State commission Kerla, reduced to the said amount Rs 11,000+350[GM SCR v/s VK Ratheesan2008(1)CPR138].

Accidental falling &Compensation

Appellant son was traveling by Awadh Exp. With valid ticket . The train was over crowded , so his son was standing near the door. Due to sudden jerk his son lost balance and hit by the home signal.Co- passengers caught hold of him so he could not fall from the train but later on succumbed to the injuries.Objection from Railway was - it is not a case of accidental falling down from train as defined in the Sec- 123(C ) of the Railways Act as deceased was not grounded , Hon’ble High Court rejected the plea by observing that too technical interpretation will rob the beneficial nature of the legislation. Accidental falling should be interpreted as meaning of causing instability in a passenger due to which he loses his balance and falls.[AIR2007 RAJ 146- Indrajeet Singh v/s Union of India]

Reserved seat occupied by others Four senior citizen had to travel, ex Lucknow to Haridwar by

Doon Exp. In SL class. Not allowed to occupy their seats by unauthorized persons of

Kissan Rally , They requested SS and Rly Police for help but in vain, Claim for compensation, Objection of Rly was: Law & order Problem, Compensation allowed Rs 525+5000+1000 by DCRF, On appeal: NC rejected the appeal by observing that whole

episode is strange commentary on working of Rly & Rly police. They prefer law breaker over law abider.

[CPR2002(1) p78 NC]

Double compensation

Dr.T.V. Viswanathan a Professor Of Kerla Agriculture University was traveling by Railway. When train reached Pudukkad railway station , he stepped out from the train but during re boarding of train , due to unusual jerk he fell down from the compartment resulting into death. Her wife filed petition for compensation for untoward incident before RCT but at the same time filed another petition for delay in providing medical help by railway administration.State commission rejected the plea by observing that – Trying to board the train& falling down will also come within the purview of un towards incident.But double compensation barred as per sec-128 0f the Railways Act. Being special law, provisions of Railways Act will prevail over CP Act. [Santha Kumary v/s UOI-2002(2)CPR252 SCDRC/Kerla.

Service rendered by Rly Hospital :

A Railway employee admitted her wife in Railway Hospital , due to negligence of doctors, she died. Objection Of Railway on claim was that service provided by Railway Hospital to its employees is free service ,so it is out side the preview of Consumer Protection Act.Hon’ble Supreme court rejected the plea and observed that - Service provided by Rly. Hospital / Doctor is not free service but it is the part of the employment where employer (Rly) has to bear the expenses . So for negligence of doctor , Railway will be liable.

(Laxman Thamappa Kotgiri Vs. GM /C Rly&ors. 2005 1scale 600 SC )

Falling down from platform

A licensed porter ,while he was pulling a trolley, the trolley hit an obstacle on Rly platform at Alwaye.On account of the impact, porter was thrown to the track on which goods train was passing resulting into his death. Claim for compensation ,rejected by RCT.WP before HC - Main objection of Rly was:

- Porter was not passenger .ORDER:

HC directed Rly to Pay compensation of Rs.4lakh; [ Smt Philomina Vs Rly through DRM-AIR2007/210KER]

Rape by Railway- Employees &Sovereign function

A women of Bangladesh was gang raped by Railway employees in Yatri Niwas at Howrah Railway Station.

Calcutta-HC awarded compensation to Rs.10 lakh to victim.

Challenge by railway before SC on ground that-Railway can not be made vicarious liable for any offence committed by its employee due to immunity of sovereign functions.

Plea rejected by SC by observing that- Establishing Yatri Niwas at various Railway Stations to provide lodging and boarding facilities to passengers on payment of charges is a part of the commercial activity of the Union of India and this activity cannot be equated with the exercise of Sovereign power.

CRB V/s CHANDRIMA DAS-AIR2000SC988.

Delay in release of PF There was delay in payment of PF amount by 14 months

by AG of Maharashtra. District Forum directed payment of PF within 30 days

with interest @18% p a . In appeal before State commission, relying on decision

of NDRC passed in Rev.No-961/97,State Commission observed that AG of Maharashtra was not running any service, which is commercial in nature within the meaning of C P Act.

AG of Maharashtra was discharging the sovereign function of Government of India, simply to maintain the accounts.

Hence, order of District Forum is set aside. [AG Maharashtra V/S P.M.INGAWALE/2008(1)CPR-p67]

Nature ofNature of Deficiencies in servicesDeficiencies in services

OPERATION RELATED

GENERAL SERVICES

SECURITYRELATED

SECURITY OF PASSENGERS &SECURITY OF PASSENGERS &PASSENGER-AREAPASSENGER-AREA

6906-Stations+9415M/E-TRAINS/DAY

36000-GRP67839-RPF