The Basti consumer commission fined the Railways ₹9.10 lakh after a student missed her NEET exam in 2018 due to a delayed train. The panel said the Railways failed to justify the delay, causing academic loss. The Railways were directed to pay compensation within 45 days, failing which 12% annual interest will apply.

Basti: The district consumer disputes redressal commission in Basti has imposed a penalty of Rs 9.10 lakh on the Railways in a seven-year-old case after a student missed her NEET examination due to a delayed train.

Student files 2018 complaint

The order was passed on a complaint filed in 2018 by Samriddhi, a resident of Pikoura Bax locality under Kotwali police station area, who had alleged that her years of preparation were ruined after she failed to reach her examination centre on time because of a late-running train.

According to the complaint, Samriddhi was scheduled to appear for the NEET examination on May 7, 2018, and had been allotted an examination centre at Jay Narayan PG College in Lucknow. She booked a ticket on an intercity superfast train from Basti, which was scheduled to reach Lucknow at 11 am. However, the train reportedly arrived more than two and a half hours late. As candidates were required to report at the centre by 12.30 pm, she was denied entry and missed the examination.

Railways held responsible

Aggrieved, the student approached the consumer commission, holding the Railways responsible for the loss of her academic year. After hearing both sides, the commission accepted that the train was delayed and noted that the Railways failed to give a satisfactory explanation for the delay.

District consumer commission president Justice Amarjeet Verma and member Ajay Prakash Singh directed the Railways to pay Rs 9.10 lakh as compensation to the complainant within 45 days. The commission also ordered that if the payment is not made within the stipulated period, the Railways will have to pay an additional 12 percent annual interest on the entire amount until it is cleared.

Notices ignored by officials

Samriddhi’s counsel Prabhakar Mishra said that notices had been issued to the Railway Ministry, the general manager of the Railways and the station superintendent, but no response was received, following which the case was formally filed before the commission on September 11, 2018. He said the case continued for over seven years, during which the Railways admitted the delay but failed to justify it.

The order has caused a stir within the railway administration, as the commission held the department liable for deficiency in service and the academic loss suffered by the student.