Attention passengers! Railways is responsible for theft of goods in trains! The bag was stolen, now you will get 4.7 lakhs

New Delhi : Attention passengers! Protect your belongings yourself. You too must have noticed such messages at some point or the other while travelling. But if you are traveling by train and even after taking precautions, your luggage is stolen, then the responsibility lies with the Railways. This is the decision of the National Consumer Dispute Redressal Commission i.e. NCDRC. The bag of a traveler from Durg was stolen. The Commission has now ordered the Railways to pay Rs 4.7 lakh as compensation to the passenger. NCDRC said in its order that the passenger took precautions for the safety of his/her luggage but the TTE is responsible for preventing the entry of ‘outsiders’ in the reserved bogie. Failed to fulfill. The incident took place in Amarkantak Express in May 2017.

The case is of May 2017 when Dilip Kumar Chaturvedi was traveling from Katni to Durg with his/her family. he/she alleges that the goods were stolen from his/her sleeper coach at around 2.30 in the morning. There was a loss of about nine and a half lakh rupees including cash and other valuables. he/she lodged an FIR with the Railway Police and approached the Durg District Consumer Commission.

The District Commission ordered to give compensation to South East Central Railway GM, Durg Station Master and Bilaspur GRP police station in-charge. But the Railways appealed to the State Commission and challenged the order of the District Commission. The State Commission overturned the decision of the District Commission.

After this Chaturvedi filed a revision petition in NCDRC. he/she said that due to negligence of TTE and Railway Police staff, ‘unauthorized persons’ were allowed to enter the reserved compartment. his/her lawyer argued that the stolen goods were duly chained and Section 100 cannot be a defense in case of negligence.

The Railways argued that under Section 100 of the Railways Act, its administration cannot be held responsible for loss, destruction or spoilage unless a Railway employee has booked the goods and given a receipt. But NCDRC rejected the argument of the Railways and said that the Railways has the responsibility of taking care of the passengers traveling in reserved coaches and their luggage.

NCDRC said in its decision, ‘…it is concluded that the Railways is liable for the theft, and the negligence of the Railway authorities was due to the deficiency in service provided to the petitioner (passenger).’ NCDRC has also imposed a fine of Rs 20,000 on the Railways.