Consumer Court Directs KSRTC to Pay Rs 35,000 Compensation to a Woman!

The woman missed her appointment with the doctor because the bus left before its scheduled time

Thiruvananthapuram (Kerala) – A woman missed her appointment with a doctor at a hospital because the bus she was to travel in, left earlier than its scheduled time. She approached the Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission. The Consumer Court passed a verdict in favour of the woman and ordered the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) to pay compensation of Rs 35,000/- to the woman which includes Rs 25,000/- as compensation and Rs 10,000/- as legal expenses.

What is the case?

On 24.08.2024, the complainant woman had booked a ticket in advance for KSRTC’s superfast bus to travel from Kattakada to a hospital in Ernakulam. The bus was scheduled to leave from Thiruvalla at 8.00 a.m. The woman had an appointment with a doctor at the hospital, at 12.30 p.m. She reached the bus-stand at 7.30 a.m. and waited for the bus till 8.10 a.m. She contacted the bus staff since the bus didn’t arrive at the scheduled time. The bus staff informed her that the bus had already left Thiruvalla and reached Kottayam and advised her to travel by another bus.

While imposing the penalty, the Consumer Court observed that allowing a bus to depart before its scheduled time, resulting in a passenger missing it despite having a reservation, amounts to a deficiency in service by KSRTC.