Explained: The 22-year-old court battle over being overcharged Rs 20 as train fare

An Uttar Pradesh man claiming he was overcharged Rs 20 as train fare has won a 22-year-old court battle against Indian Railways.

A consumer court last week ruled in favour of lawyer Tungnath Chaturvedi and ordered the railways to refund his money plus interest.

“I have attended more than 100 hearings in connection with this case,” Chaturvedi, 66, told the BBC. “But you can’t put a price on the energy and time I’ve lost fighting this case.”

But what exactly happened? Let’s take a closer look:

As per BBC, in 1999, lawyer Tungnath Chaturvedi purchased two railway tickets which cost Rs 35 each from Mathura to Moradabad.

When Chaturvedi gave the clerk at Mathura cantonment railway station Rs 100, hewas Rs 10 instead of Rs 30.

Chaturvedi told ANI, “I had questioned him and had even met the station master but none of that helped. Hence I was forced to seek legal remedy."

Chaturvedi filed a case against North East Railway (Gorakhpur) and the booking clerk in a consumer court in Mathura.

Long wait for justice

Chaturvedi said hearings at times would be postponed as judges were on vacation or condolence leave.

“The railways also tried to dismiss the case, saying complaints against the railways should be addressed to a railway tribunal and not a consumer court,” said Chaturvedi told BBC.

“But we used a 2021 Supreme Court ruling to prove that the matter could be heard in a consumer court,” Chaturvedi added.

The consumer court last week ordered the railways to pay him Rs 15,000 and refund him the 20 rupees at 12 per cent interest per year.

According to the court, the interest rate would be increased to 15 per cent if the amount was not paid within the specified time of 30 days.

“After a 22-year-long fight, the court ruled in my favour, asking railways to pay me Rs 15,000. The Court has also ordered the Indian Railways to pay this amount within one month or they will be liable to pay 15 per cent interest extra on the total amount to be paid,” Chaturvedi said.

Speaking to News18, Chaturvedi said, “It’s not the money that matters. This was always about a fight for justice and a fight against corruption, so it was worth it. Also, since I am an advocate myself, I didn’t have to pay money to a lawyer or bear the cost of travelling to the court. That can get quite expensive.”

He concluded by advising that one doesn’t need to give up even when the fight looks tough. Chaturvedi hopes that his case serves as an inspiration to many.

“I had belief in myself and being an advocate I had enough legal knowledge to know about what to do in a situation like this. If the Railways charges anybody more than the legal fare, then we can get them punished via the consumer district redressal forum. My family advised me to take back this case, my friends and relatives persuaded me to give up but I turned a deaf year towards them and continued on my path for justice,” Chaturvedi further told ANI.

With inputs from agencies

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