SOUTH CENTRAL RAILWAY Vs. JAGANNATH MOHAN SHINDE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This revision petition has been filed by General Manager, South Central Railway & Ors. (hereinafter referred to as the 'Petitioners') against the order of the State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Maharashtra (hereinafter referred to as the 'State Commission') in Appeal No.620/2001 which was decided in favour of Jagannath, Respondent herein who was the original complainant before the District Forum.

(2.) The facts of the case are that the Respondent along with his wife and daughter were travelling in their reserved berths by train from Mumbai to Aurangabad on 21.09.1997 and their bag containing gold ornaments and cash was secured with a chain to the lower berth rod. When the train reached Nashik Station, Respondent's wife noted that the Train Ticket Examiner (TTE) had permitted a person to enter the reserved compartment and he was sleeping in the passage between the lower berths. When the train arrived at Aurangabad Station, Respondent found that their bag which they had secured with a chain was untied and gold ornaments and cash worth Rs.1,31,000/- was missing. Respondent immediately lodged a complaint with the Police Inspector, Southern Central Railway giving relevant details and specifically stating that the alleged theft appears to have been committed by the unauthorized person who entered the compartment perhaps in connivance with the TTE. A complaint was also submitted to the DIG, Mumbai Circle Police (Railways) and other higher authorities. On 27.07.1997, Respondent was informed by the Police that despite rigorous efforts, Police were not able to solve the case. Being aggrieved, Respondent filed a complaint with the District Forum on grounds of deficiency in service on the part of the Petitioner and specifically the TTE and requested that the Petitioner be directed to pay him an amount of Rs.1,31,000/- towards loss of gold ornaments and cash and Rs.25,000/- as compensation.

(3.) Petitioner in response inter alia stated that in view of the fact that only the Railway Claims Tribunal has the jurisdiction to entertain such types of disputes and not the Consumer Fora, the case falls outside the purview of the District Forum. On the merits of the case, Petitioner while agreeing that the Respondent had boarded the train along with his family from Mumbai to Aurangabad, denied that any unauthorized person had entered the reserved compartment as only passengers with reserved tickets are permitted to undertake the night journey and these rules are strictly enforced. Therefore, the allegations that an unauthorized passenger was permitted to enter by the TTE is not correct. Further, there is adequate railway security in the train to ensure the safety of passengers. It was further contended that as per provisions of the Indian Railways Act, railway authorities shall not be responsible for any loss, destruction, damage, deterioration etc. caused to passenger's luggage unless the railway servant has booked the luggage and is given a receipt to this effect to the passenger. In the instant case, the passenger had not entrusted its safety to any railway official and was carrying the luggage at his own risk.