Passenger dropped 3 km away from bus stop, TNSTC directed to pay Rs 60,000 as compensation

CHENNAI: A passenger, who was dropped in a remote place that is three km away from the bus stop where he was supposed to deboard, was awarded a compensation of Rs 60,000 by a consumer court.

The Thoothukudi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission directed the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) to pay the compensation, including Rs 10,000 on account of litigation expenses.

In July 2018, KK Sarguru, a native of Arumuganeri from Thoothukudi, travelled to Peyanvilai on a government bus bound for Nagercoil. He paid the ticket fare of Rs 30. According to Sarguru, when he asked the conductor to allow him to get down at Peyanvilai, he was told that there was no stop there. The passenger claimed that according to an order passed by the Transport Corporation, all buses must stop at Peyanvilai. But the conductor allegedly used inappropriate words and forced him to stay put.

The bus then proceeded for three more kilometres before it halted at Kayalpattinam bus station and dropped Sarguru off.

Vexed by this, Sarguru filed a case in this regard at Arumuganeri police station. When he later approached the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, they allegedly failed to give a proper response to him.

Following this, he filed a complaint with the Thoothukudi District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, which investigated the complaint. The commission headed by the president Thiruneela Prasad, and members A Sankar and Namatchivayam directed the State-run corporation to pay a compensation of Rs 50,000 and Rs 10,000 as litigation expenses. If it fails to pay the amount, it should pay nine per cent annual interest from the date of the order till the date of realisation, the panel added.