NEW DELHI: A district consumer commission in Kerala has directed Railway to refund Rs 6,700 to a man whose train tickets were confirmed less than four hours before departure, leaving him no time to cancel them and claim a refund after booking flight tickets. Holding the railway guilty of deficiency in service, the commission said the late confirmation itself deprived him of the opportunity to cancel the tickets within the prescribed deadline.
Case background
As per the commission order, Dilip Kumar P S had booked two tickets for his daughter and himself from Hazrat Nizamuddin to Thiruvananthapuram for June 22, 2018. His daughter had received a call letter from the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) for the post of Assistant Meteorological Officer and was required to appear for document verification at its New Delhi headquarters on that date.For the return journey, they booked tickets through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on May 24, 2018. Both tickets, one in sleeper class and another in third AC, were waitlisted. The fares were Rs 1,860 and Rs 4,840, respectively. The complainant was monitoring their status daily, hoping to cancel them if they were not confirmed.On June 22, at around 7.20 pm, the complainant and his daughter checked the status at an IRCTC service counter in New Delhi and found that both tickets remained unconfirmed. They then booked flight tickets for their return journey.However, at around 7.39 pm, they received an SMS confirming the railway tickets. They tried to cancel them but, owing to internet connectivity problems, could complete the cancellation only at 8.45pm. Since the train was scheduled to depart at 11.35pm, the tickets could not be cancelled before the four-hour deadline for claiming a refund.The complainant alleged that the railway authorities had informed him about the confirmation only after the refund deadline had effectively passed, causing him financial loss. He approached the commission, alleging deficiency in service and seeking a refund and compensation.In its written statement, Southern Railway argued that passengers could cancel tickets at any time and that confirmation depended on cancellations by other passengers. It said chart preparation was completed four hours before departure and that waitlisted tickets were confirmed according to availability. It also contended that the refund dispute fell within the jurisdiction of the Railway Claims Tribunal.IRCTC argued that it only provided access to the railway reservation system and had no role in preparing charts, confirming berths or deciding refunds. It said the refund decision rested with the concerned railway authorities.
Commission’s findings
The bench of president P V Jayarajan and members Preetha G Nair and Viju V R held that Southern Railway’s late confirmation of the tickets amounted to deficiency in service. It noted that the confirmation SMS was sent at 7.39pm, less than four hours before the scheduled departure at 11.35pm, leaving the complainant with no opportunity to cancel the tickets within the prescribed period.The commission also rejected Southern Railway’s argument that the matter could only be decided by the Railway Claims Tribunal. It said consumer commission proceedings were not barred merely because another legal remedy was available.The bench accepted IRCTC’s contention that it had no role in confirming berths or sending confirmation messages, and exonerated it from liability.“The intimation of confirmed tickets to the complainant within 4 hours of scheduled departure of train itself restrains the complainant to cancel the confirmed tickets before 4 hours of the scheduled departure of train. The act of the 1st opposite party amounts to deficiency in service, hence 1st opposite party is liable to compensate the complainant,” the bench said.
Final order
Announced on October 27, 2026, the order partly allowed the complaint. The commission directed Southern Railway to pay:
- Rs 6,700 as refund of the two railway tickets.
- Rs 10,000 as compensation for mental agony.
- Rs 3,000 as litigation expenses.
The railway must make the payment within one month of receiving the order, failing which the amount, excluding litigation costs, will carry 9 percent annual interest from the date of default until realisation.