Premjit Singh of Ludhiana fought a legal battle with the Railways after getting Rs 5 less in ticket refund. Considering it an unfair trade practice, the Consumer Court ordered the Railways to return Rs 5 and pay a compensation of Rs 10,000.
Ludhiana: It is said that the fight for rights is neither small nor big. 41 year old Premjit Singh, living in Ludhiana, Punjab, has proved this to be true. He fought a legal battle with the Railways for just Rs 5 and also won the case in the Consumer Court. The matter was related to getting Rs 5 less in refund on cancellation of train ticket. At first Premjit tried to talk to the railway officials, but when no proper response was received, he approached the District Consumer Commission.
What is the whole matter?
Premjit Singh had booked two train tickets from Hisar to Ludhiana for himself and his father on 28 February 2023. For these tickets, he had paid Rs 330 through debit card at Ludhiana Railway Station. But due to some personal reasons, he had to cancel the ticket a day before the journey, i.e. on March 2.
According to the rules, Premjeet should have got Rs 90 back after deducting the cancellation charge of Rs 240. But when he checked his bank statement in January 2024, he found that only Rs 85 had come into his account.
After this, Premjit Singh reached the railway station officials with the ticket and bank statement, but he was not given any clear reason for deducting Rs 5. Then he sent a notice to the Railways through his lawyer and lodged a complaint with the Consumer Commission. Meanwhile, Railways replied that Rs 5 was deducted not by them but by Premjit’s bank.
What did the court find?
When the Consumer Commission investigated the matter, a 2017 circular of the Railway Board came to light. According to this, banks can deduct a charge of Rs 5 at the time of refund on transactions up to Rs 1000 done through POS machines. Expressing surprise, the Commission said that even the Railway officials themselves were not aware of this rule. The commission said that deducting money without informing the passenger is wrong. Considering this as an ‘unfair trade practice’, the commission ruled that Premjit Singh was entitled to the remaining Rs 5.
The court ordered the Railways to return the deducted Rs 5 to Premjit. Apart from this, it was also directed to pay compensation of Rs 10,000 as expenses incurred in the case. The court also made it clear that if this amount is not paid within 30 days, a fine of Rs 200 will be imposed every day till the payment is made.