Passenger should protect luggage from theft, not Railways: Delhi HC
New Delhi, Apr 9 (PTI): The Delhi High Court on Wednesday said a passenger travelling in train was responsible for the safety of their luggage and Railways was not liable for any theft unless there was negligence or misconduct by its officials.
Justice Ravinder Dudeja passed the verdict while hearing a man's plea alleging he was travelling in a 3rd AC coach and his backpack, having his laptop, camera, charger, eye glasses and ATM cards, was stolen during the journey from New Delhi to Nagpur in January, 2013.
The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission had previously dismissed his complaint which claimed over Rs 84,000 for the loss of goods aside from Rs 1 lakh for the harassment due to deficiency in services.
The high court upheld the national commission's decision and said the claim was mainly based on the fact that the attendant was sleeping and rude, and the conductor was not traceable.
However, the court said, there was "not even a whisper" of the doors of the coach being left open to enable some unauthorised intruder to commit the theft.
The verdict pointed out that the mere absence of the conductor per se might not amount to deficiency of service when there was no allegation with respect to his failure to close the door.
"There has to be a reasonable nexus between the commission of the theft and the negligence of duty by the conductor and the attendant.. There is nothing on record to suggest that the theft could not have been carried out by some co-passenger on board. If that was so, even the presence of the Conductor in the train would have been of no help," the judgement said.
Referring to a Supreme Court decision, the high court found it "abundantly clear" that the passenger was responsible for the safekeeping their belongings and not the Railways.
The consumer district forum had first held the Railways to be deficient in service and awarded Rs 5,000 as compensation to the petitioner for harassment in 2014.
The State Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission enhanced it to Rs 1 lakh in 2023.
The order of the state commission was set aside by the national commission in 2024 after the authorities filed a revision petition.
The passenger challenged the national commission's order and sought a direction for restoring the state commission's decision.
"This court finds no perversity or impropriety in the impugned judgment dated 29.08.2024 passed by the NCDRC. There is no merit in the petition. Petition is accordingly dismissed," the high court held.
Railways argued in the high court that as per the applicable rules, it could not be held responsible for the loss of any un-booked luggage and pointed out if the petitioner had used the strong iron rings under the seat to tie or lock their luggage, the theft wouldn't have taken place.
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Humanity trumps terror: Kashmiri guide saves lives of children of Chhattisgarh tourists
Raipur, Apr 24 (PTI): Risking his own life, a Kashmiri tourist guide saved the lives of children from a group of tourists from Chhattisgarh when terrorists struck in Pahalgam on Tuesday.
Nazakat Ahmad Shah (28) was acting as a guide to a group of 11, four couples and three children, from Manendragarh-Chirmiri-Bharatpur district in Chhattisgarh during their Kashmir trip.
Shah's own cousin was killed in the attack that claimed the lives of 26 persons, he told PTI over phone on Thursday.
Arvind Agrawal, one of the tourists, posted pictures of him and his daughter with Shah on his social media handle and wrote, "You saved our lives by risking your own, we will never be able to repay the debt of Nazakat Bhai." As per his Facebook profile, Agrawal is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha- a youth wing of the BJP.
Besides the Agrawals, families of Kuldeep Sthapak, Shivansh Jain and Happy Wadhavan were part of the group.
Shah sells shawls in Chirmiri town of Chhattisgarh in winter, and therefore knew these families.
"They reached Jammu on April 17 and I received them and took them to Kashmir in two vehicles. I took them to Srinagar, Gulmarg, Sonmarg and in the last leg we decided to visit Pahalgam," he said.
"Pahalgam was to be the last venue as my village is close by, and I wanted to host them, because Kashmiris have a passion for hospitality," Shah said.
"We reached Baisran around 12:00 noon. My tourists were busy with pony rides and clicking pictures. Around 2 pm I told Lucky (Kuldeep) that we are getting late, so we should go. He replied we will go after clicking some more pictures. While we were talking, we heard gunshots and initially we thought it was the sound of firecrackers.
"Suddenly, we realized it was gunshots. There were thousands of tourists who were running here and there in panic," he said.
"My first concern was the safety of the tourist families. I took Lucky's kid and another child and laid down on the ground. The area was fenced so it was not easy to escape. I noticed a small opening and asked the families to move out through that opening. They asked me to save the children first. I slipped through it with the two kids, and ran towards Pahalgam town," he said.
After depositing the children in a safe place, he returned to the spot and escorted out the others safely. "Thanks to Allah, I took all our 11 guests safely to Pahalgam," Shah said.
Adil Hussain, the son of his maternal uncle, was killed in the terror attack but he could not attend his final rites as he decided to escort the tourists back, he said.
"I knew them (Kuldeep and others) for several years as earlier I used to accompany my father to Chirmiri to sell shawls. I wanted my guests saved even if I did not survive," said Shah, who has two daughters.
Like Agrawal, Sthapak also shared his and his family's pictures with Shah on social media, and hailed him profusely for saving their lives.
"A letter written from the heart to Nazakat Bhai...My brother, the passion and bravery with which you rescued us from there is still echoing in my ears. There was chaos, gunshots, screams and the shadow of death all around. No ordinary person can do that. The humanity you showed by putting your life at stake is beyond words. I will be grateful to you all my life. I can never forget this favor," he wrote in Hindi on his Facebook page.
Sthapak also said he was concerned about Shah's own safety. "People will debate about religion and caste, but who will take care of Nazakat Bhai, who presented the most beautiful example of humanity? The heart becomes restless thinking about this," he said.
Shah picked up his child, sat him on his shoulders and ran 14 km on dangerous hills, Sthapak said.
"Nazakat bhai, you not only saved my life that day, you kept humanity alive. I will never forget you for the rest of my life," he added.
Sthapak's wife is a BJP corporator in Chirmiri town.
नजाकत खान जैसे लोग इंसानियत की मिशाल हैं।
— Dr Monika Singh (@Dr_MonikaSingh_) April 24, 2025
पहलगाम आतंकी हमले में 28 लोगों की मौत हो गई. वहीं इस बीच हमले के दौरान अपनी बहादुरी से 11 लोगों की जान बचाने वाले नज़ाकत अहमद शाह ने आंखों देखी पूरी घटना बयां की है और साथ ही उन्होंने बताया कि कैसे उन्होंने लोगों की जान बचाई... pic.twitter.com/QXxyAmlfPG
