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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Punjab: Blast near army cantt area in Amritsar, hours after explosion in Jalandhar
Chandigarh (PTI): An explosion occurred near the army cantonment area in Khasa late Tuesday night in Punjab's Amritsar, the second such incident which took place around three hours after a blast outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar.
According to the police, an investigation into both blast incidents is currently underway, and no injuries have been reported.
The first explosion happened around 8 pm in Jalandhar, while the second blast occurred at approximately 11 pm in Amritsar.
Amritsar (Rural) Senior Superintendent of Police Suhail Mir Qasim stated that police received reports of a loud sound at around 11 pm on a road in Khasa. "Our teams arrived on the scene immediately," he said.
Preliminary inspections indicated that someone had thrown an explosive device towards the boundary wall, leading to the explosion, according to the SSP.
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Police mentioned that a piece of a tin sheet covering the boundary wall had fallen as a result of the blast.
Following the explosion, a team of forensic and bomb disposal squad visited the site to collect samples.
Amritsar Rural Superintendent of Police Aditya S. Warrier, who also visited the scene, confirmed that further investigations are ongoing. Police added that a team of army officials also assessed the situation, after which the area was cordoned off.
CCTV footage from the vicinity shows the explosion occurring at night. A local villager reported that his family was awakened by the loud sound and came outside their home to see what had happened.
Before the Amritsar explosion, a blast took place outside the headquarters of the Border Security Force's Punjab Frontier in Jalandhar district around 8 pm on Tuesday, causing panic in the area.
CCTV footage captured the explosion, which resulted in a cloud of smoke. An unidentified man was seen running for cover following the blast.
The blast ripped apart a scooter, damaged a traffic signal pole and windowpanes of a nearby shop. Locals recounted that the scooter, which was parked outside the BSF headquarters, Punjab Frontier, caught fire shortly after a loud sound. It belonged to Gurpreet Singh, who regularly delivers parcels in the area.
Talking to reporters on Tuesday night, one of Gurpreet's relatives said that the scooter caught fire as he was approaching it. He immediately called his father and informed him about the incident.
Jalandhar Police Commissioner Dhanpreet Kaur confirmed to reporters late Tuesday that an Activa scooter parked near the gate caught fire suddenly. She stated that Gurpreet is fully cooperating with the investigation.
Witnesses nearby reported hearing a loud sound following the explosion.
On April 27, an explosion occurred at a freight corridor rail track in Shambhu in Patiala. Police had arrested four members of a pro-Khalistan terror module, backed by Pakistan's ISI, for the blast.
In light of these incidents, opposition parties have condemned the AAP government for its handling of the situation.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) President Sukhbir Singh Badal criticised Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who also holds the home portfolio, over the recent blasts.
"Three blasts in 10 days, two in a single day, May 5: Jalandhar outside BSF headquarters and Sri Amritsar Sahib Army area, April 27: Rajpura rail track. Continued intelligence failures and the collapse of law and order are a matter of grave concern. Chief Minister @BhagwantMann, who is also the state Home Minister, is busy with mimicry and cheap politics. He has forfeited the right to remain in office," Badal said in a post on X.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also slammed the Mann government over the two blasts.
"Back-to-back blasts have shaken Punjab. Yesterday in Jalandhar, and now near Khasa Camp in Amritsar, this is deeply alarming. Who is trying to destabilise our state? Why has the Punjab Government failed to prevent such incidents? What is the Government of India doing? Repeated lapses point to a serious breakdown of intelligence and security. Punjab's peace cannot be compromised. We demand accountability and immediate action," Warring said in a post on X.
