CHENNAI: For humiliating a railway passenger who was travelling from Salem to Chennai in Kovai Express, the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE) and Southern Railways have been pulled up by the North Chennai district consumer forum recently. The resident filed a petition in the forum after he was denied a reserved ticket by the TTE, though there were many vacancies in the compartment.
The forum has also directed the Southern Railway and the TTE to provide a compensation of Rs 15,000 to the passenger, who is a resident of Chennai.
The incident dates back to 2014 when GA Thiyagarjanan along with two others travelled from Salem to Chennai in Kovai Express in an open ticket. At Salem, he purchased an unreserved ticket to Chennai and when the train arrived at Salem Station, he requested the TTE for accommodation in the sleeper class coach.
After looking at the ticket position, the TTE offered only a single seat and sought Rs 200. The petitioner alleged that though he requested for a receipt, TTE denied to provide one. He also threatened the resident that if he required a receipt, the complainant would have to pay a fine amount equal to the ticket value.
After the TTE refused to show his name badge, Thiyagarajan filed an RTI to gather all the details and sent a complaint to the Southern Railway officials who initiated disciplinary action. He also filed a petition at the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum, Chennai (North) seeking compensation of Rs 1 lakh.
Denying the allegations, the railway administration said that as a penalty, it had withheld the annual increment of the TTE.
The forum observed that the railways in the RTI to Thiyagarajan had said that subject to the availability of accommodation in a reserved coach and with the prior permission of the TTE an open ticket holder can seek accommodation in a reserved coach. Also it was mentioned that during the enquiry held by railways, it was found that there were seven vacancies in the coaches under the control of the TTE.
After observing oral and documentary evidence, the tribunal presided by K Lakshmikantham and member PV Jeyanthi, directed the railways and the TTE to jointly provide a compensation of Rs 15,000.