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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

SPECIAL LEAVE PETITION (C) NO. 13288 OF 2021

NORTHERN WESTERN RAILWAY & ANR. Petitioner(s)

VERSUS

SANJAY SHUKLA Respondent(s)

O R D E R

1.

Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment

and order dated 08.09.2020 passed by the National Consumer Disputes

Redressal Commission, New Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the

‘National Commission’) in Revision Petition bearing No. 2940/2018,

by which the learned National Commission has dismissed the said

revision petition and has confirmed the order passed by the State

Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Rajasthan, Jaipur, Bench

No.1 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘State Commission’) dated

3.7.2018 passed in First Appeal No. 1234 of 2017 confirming the

order passed by the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum,

Alwar (hereinafter referred to as the ’District Forum’) allowing

the complaint filed by the respondent herein and directing the

Northern Western Railway and another to pay to the complainant –

respondent herein Rs. 15,000/- for taxi expenses, Rs.10,000/-

towards booking expenses along with Rs. 5,000/- each towards mental

agony and litigation expenses, the original respondents – Northern

Western Railway and another have preferred the present special

leave petition.

Digitally signed by R

Natarajan

Date: 2021.09.22

16:22:07 IST

Reason:

Signature Not Verified

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2.

That the respondent herein booked four tickets for his family

including himself from the Northern Western Railway in Ajmer Jammu

Express Train No. 12413 for the journey from Kishangarh to Jammu

Tawi on 10.06.2016. He also further booked return reserved tickets

from the same train for 17.06.2016. The said train after starting

from Ajmer had to reach Jammu Tawi at 8:10 a.m. in the morning on

11.06.2016. As per the case of the respondent, he had to take

flight at 12:00 noon from Jammu to Srinagar in SpiceJet, which was

to be landed at Srinagar at 12:15 p.m. But the said train did not

reach in time and it was delayed by four hours and reached Jammu at

12:00 noon. Since the Jammu Airport was at a far distance from

Jammu Railway Station and they had to reach the airport at least

two hours prior to the departure of the flight, they could not

reach in time and missed the flight. That thereafter the

respondent booked private taxi and reached Srinagar. Therefore,

the respondent herein – original complainant filed a complaint

before the District Forum against the petitioners herein being

Complaint Case No. 993 of 2016 and claimed loss of Rs. 9,000/- as

air fare, Rs. 15,000/- towards taxi hire charges for going from

Jammu to Srinagar, Rs. 10,000/- on account of booking of boat in

Dal Lake. The aforesaid claim petition was opposed by the

petitioners herein.

3.

That the learned District Forum by order dated 14.09.2017

allowed the complaint by observing that there was a deficiency in

service and because of that the complainant – respondent herein

suffered. The District Forum directed the petitioners to pay to

the complainant Rs. 25,000/- as compensation, Rs. 5,000/- each

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towards mental agony and litigation charges within one month from

the date of the order, failing which the complainant would be

entitled to 9% simple interest. The order passed by the District

Forum came to be confirmed by the State Commission in an appeal and

thereafter by the National Commission by the impugned judgment and

order passed in the revision petition.

4.

Ms. Aishwarya Bhati, learned Additional Solicitor General has

vehemently submitted that late running of train cannot be said to

be deficiency in service on the part of the railways. It is

submitted that in view of Rule 114 and Rule 115 of the Indian

Railway Conference Association Coa