Times of India: Tirunelveli:
Thursday, 03 September 2020.
The
district consumer grievances redressal forum in Tirunelveli has directed a
private bus operator to pay Rs 20,000 as compensation to a commuter for
charging Rs 1 more than the actual fare. The petitioner, G Esakki Muthu, 30, of
Palayamkottai, works in a private firm in Tirunelveli.
On
September 1, 2017, he took the private bus (Aravind Transport) from the
Tirunelveli New Bus Stand to Tuticorin. The conductor charged him Rs 25 as fare
instead of Rs 24 fixed by the government. This resulted in a heated exchange of
words, following which he approached the consumer court.
During
the initial processes, the operator initially denied that it was pertaining to
his company and pointed his finger at another private operator, which was later
proved to be false. The operator also produced a GO dated January 19, 2018,
with the revised fare structure according to which Rs 34 could be collected for
the same route.
“But the
journey was months ahead of the fare revision. We got the actual fares fixed
for the period through the Right To Information Act and fought the case,”
Muthu’s counsel A Brammanayagam said. Along with the petition the consumer
submitted a copy of the ticket, GOs in this regard and RTI replies obtained
from the regional transport officer.
In its
direction on Tuesday, forum president K Devadass and member S Sivanmoorthi
found the bus operator guilty of deficiency in service. They directed the
operator to pay Rs 15,000 as compensation for mental agony undergone by the
commuter, Rs 5,000 for his legal expenses and to return the excess fare of Rs 1
collected from him.
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