MR. KUNDAN KUMAR KUMAI

This is an appeal u/s 15 of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, preferred against the order no. 07 dated 23/03/2023 in Consumer Case no. CC/26/2022, passed by the Ld. DCDRC, Alipurduar.

 Brief fact of the Appellant’s case is that, the Respondent/Complainant had gone to Durgapur for medical check-up and had purchased a ticket from IRCTC on 22/09/2022, for returning to Alipurduar from Rampurhat on 23/09/2023, being train no. 13173. For this reason, he boarded Agnibina Express with PNR no. 6409418124 from Durgapur, reaching Bardhaman at 7:09 AM on 23/09/2022 and proceeded to Rampurhat Station by vehicle. On reaching Rampurhat Station, he came to know from the Railway enquiry counter, that the train being no. 13173, had been diverted and would run through Nabadwip section. The Respondent/Complainant requested the Station Master of Rampurhar Station, to arrange a reservation in any other train to go to Alipurduar, but the said Station Master, expressed his inability to do so. The Respondent/Complainant then went to the ticket counter of Rampurhat Station to get a refund of the fare collected by IRCTC. But they refused to do so, on the ground, that the fare had been collected by IRCTC and the said train had been under operation of Sealdeah Division. As the Appellant failed to intimate any diversion of the train no.13173 on journey date on 23/09/2022, he could somehow manage a ticket in Teesta-Torsha Express and arrived in Alipurduar on 24/09/2022. The Respondent/Complainant claimed the refund on-line, but the same was repudiated with the remarks “the said train is not diverted”. Finding no alternative, the Respondent/Complainant filed a Complaint before the Ld. DCDRC, Alipurduar along with necessary prayers.

The Appellant contested the Case by filing a written version wherein they mentioned that the Plasser Quick Relaying System work, related to track maintenance on off-line between Tilbhita and Kotalpukur in Rampurhat Gumani Section of Howrah Division of Eastern Railway, had been taken up and the said train had been diverted from Dum Dum Jn. /Naihati-Bandel-New Farakka. The matter had been released in several newspapers and the same was published to Press Release and Paper Notification with intent to make the intending passengers aware. Additional information in this regard was also propagated through Eastern Railway’s Social Media handles like Face Book, Instagram, Twitter, etc. That apart the on-line Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR) was dealt by the train destination zone i.e., North-East Frontier Railway and the train no. 13173 terminated at Agartala Station under the North-East Frontier Railway and the DRM, Alipurduar under the N.F. Railway, DRM (Commercial), Lumding Division are also essential parties. It was also prayed that the Case be dismissed.

But as the written version was not filed within the stipulated 45 (forty-five) days, the same had not been accepted and the matter had been fixed for ex-parte hearing against the Appellant vide the impugned order.

Being aggrieved by the above order, the Appe