A man from Mathura, Uttar Pradesh, has won a 22-year-old legal battle against the Indian Railways over an overpriced ticket of Rs 20.?
In 1999, Tungnath Chaturvedi, a lawyer, had bought two railway tickets to travel from Mathura to Moradabad. However, the clerk at the ticket-booking centre had charged him Rs?20 extra for his journey.
While the ticket at that time cost 35 rupees. Chaturvedi handed over Rs 100, but the clerk at the station returned only Rs 10, charging him a total of Rs 90 instead of 70.?
Chaturvedi immediately complained about having been overcharged, but his request was dismissed and he wasn't offered a refund at the time, the BBC? reported.?So, he decided to file a complaint against the North East Railway, and the booking clerk involved in the incident at a consumer court in Mathura.
"I have attended more than 100 hearings in connection with this case. But you can't put a price on the energy and time I've lost fighting this case," Chaturvedi told the?BBC.
After a long and hard-fought battle for 22 years, the consumer court ruled in his favour.?
"The railways also tried to dismiss the case, saying complaints against the railways should be addressed to a railway tribunal and not a consumer court," Chaturvedi told the BBC.
"But we used a 2021?Supreme Court?ruling to prove that the matter could be heard in a consumer court," he added.
The consumer court ordered the railways to pay him a fine of Rs 15,000 and refund him the 20 rupees at 12 per cent interest per year.
According to the court, the interest rate would be increased to 15 per cent if the amount was not paid within the specified time of 30 days.
Chaturvedi said the compensation he got was meagre and it doesn't make up for the mental anguish the case caused him. However, he said? that case was always about justice and fighting corruption.?
"It's not the money that matters. This was always about a fight for justice and a fight against corruption, so it was worth it. Also, since I am an advocate myself, I didn't have to pay money to a lawyer or bear the cost of travelling to the court. That can get quite expensive," he added.?
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