UNION OF INDIA Vs. SURESH MAHAJAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ON account of deficiency in service inasmuch as not issuing the tickets for four persons on the basis of reservation booking form, the appellant, who is Railway Department, has been directed to pay Rs. 5,000/ - as compensation to the respondent vide impugned order dated 11.11.1997, passed by the District Forum. Feeling aggrieved the appellant has preferred this appeal.

(2.) THE solitary plea raised by the appellant is that the question of deficiency in service does not arise as the train number mentioned by the respondent on the reservation booking form was the train from Jammu Tawi to Delhi and not from Delhi to Jammu Tawi. According to the reservation booking form the respondent clarified that they wanted to travel from New Delhi to Jammu Tawi. Merely because the train number was mentioned as 2404 relating to the train starting from Jammu to Delhi does not mean that the respondents did not inform the booking clerk that they wanted to travel from New Delhi to Jammu.

(3.) HOWEVER , having received the tickets a month before the respondent also contributed towards negligence in not verifying the tickets issued from Jammu to Delhi. It was only on reaching the station that they were told that the tickets they were having were for a train from Jammu to New Delhi and not vice versa. Be that as it may and taking overall view of the matter and considering the contributory negligence on the part of the respondent as a mitigating circumstance, we do not feel inclined to interfere with the impugned order as the compensation awarded by the District Forum is on lower side. The appeal is dismissed being devoid of merit.