The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : Onus on railways to protect passengers’ luggage

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Monday, Jul 06, 2009
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

Onus on railways to protect passengers’ luggage

K. Vijaya Bhaskara Reddy

‘It is up to the railways to bring out the facts of the case’

HYDERABAD: The onus is on railways to protect luggage of passengers in reserved compartments and also to recover in case it goes missing, stated Justice. D. Appa Rao, president of A.P. State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (APSCRDC). Saritha Jhawar, a resident of Visakhapatnam, lost her luggage in a reserved compartment during her journey from Kolkata on January 28, 2004. She immediately filed a complaint about the loss of cash and jewellery worth Rs.1.5 lakh at Berhampur Railway Police Station. With no action being taken on her complaint, Ms. Jhawar moved the Visakhapatnam District Consumer Forum -1 in 2006. The ECR argued that she did not prove loss of luggage and also that it was not the responsibility of railways to protect luggage of passengers.

The district forum, which felt that Ms. Jhawar’s case was not strong enough as she did not furnish testimonies of her co-passengers, dismissed the complaint. She appealed to APSCRDC. The railways again argued that Ms. Jhawar had not established the loss of her luggage. The State Commissioncommented that it was up to the railways to bring out the facts of the case since it has the addresses of her co-passengers. The ECR was ordered to pay- within a month- Rs.1.5 lakh and also six p.c. interest from the date of the incident, Rs.10,000 towards mental agony and Rs.2,000 for court costs.

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