Student misses exam due to train delay, gets Rs 9 lakh compensation from railways

Public transport failure is a constant issue in a lot of Indian cities but what's worse is when it hits crucial moments such as an entrance exam. This is precisely what happened to a girl from Basti district in Uttar Pradesh, the girl ended up winning Rs 9.10 lakh as compensation from Railways after she missed an important entrance exam when her train arrived over two hours late.

The girl, Samriddhi, whose delay in attending the BSc Biotechnology entrance exam in 2018 was caused by the late arrival of their intercity superfast train, took the matter to the district consumer commission. After a lengthy legal battle spanning over seven years, the commission finally ordered the Railways to pay Samriddhi and thus put the blame on the Railways for the fault.

Samriddhi was gearing up for the entrance examination for a whole year. As her exam spot was Jai Narayan PG College, Lucknow, she bought a ticket for the intercity superfast train from Basti that was scheduled to reach Lucknow at 11 am. The train, however, appeared with a delay of almost two and a half hours.

The examinees were allotted 12.30 pm as the time for reporting at the examination centre. Hence, Samriddhi absolutely could not have appeared for the exam.

COURT HOLDS RAILWAYS ACCOUNTABLE

Aggrieved by the loss, Samriddhi filed a Rs 20 lakh compensation claim through her lawyer. Notices were issued to the Railway Ministry, the general manager and the station superintendent, but no satisfactory response was received.

After hearing both sides, the district consumer commission ruled that the Railways had failed to provide timely service. While the Railways acknowledged the delay, they could not offer a clear explanation for it.

The commission directed the Railways to pay Rs 9.10 lakh as compensation within 45 days, failing which the amount would attract an additional 12 percent interest.

Lawyer Prabhakar Mishra, representing Samriddhi, explained that the event took place on May 7, 2018, when she was going to Lucknow for her entrance exam. "The train delay made it impossible for her to get to the exam centre on time, so she lost the whole academic year, " he added.

Mishra revealed that the case took more than seven years to be resolved. "The Railways confessed to the delay but they didn't provide any reasons for it. So, the court decided to impose a heavy fine, " he explained.

The verdict has led to renewed debate on the rights of passengers and the need to hold the train operators responsible for delays, which is an issue that has been constantly complained about by millions of railway users in the country.