An Indian lawyer Tungnath Chaturvedi took Indian Railways to court in 1999 for overcharging by Rs 20. Now, after a 22-year-long legal battle, the man has received justice.
He bought a ticket at Mathura station in Uttar Pradesh to go to Moradabad. He was charged Rs 90 instead of Rs 70. He filed a complaint there itself but did not receive a refund. He then approached the local consumer court in Mathura against the North East Railways Service division.
While Chaturvedi is happy about the win, he told BBC that it is not possible to put a price on the energy and time spent fighting this case. His family tried to make him drop the case after a railway tribunal dismissed the case. They told him it was a waste of time and money.
While he represented himself and did not have to pay legal fees, he had to deal with Indian Railways' claims of not being responsible for his predicament. The department tried to dismiss his case saying they are only responsible to address cases related to train travel in India.
The 66-year-old had to sit through 100 hearings for the court to rule in his favour. The court asked the Railways to pay a fine of Rs 15,000 and a 12% interest. If the public transport department does not make the payment in 30 days, the interest will rise to 15%.
Chaturvedi will now receive Rs 15,000 in fine and a refund of Rs 20 he was overcharged at a 12% interest rate for each year between 1999 to 2022.
The senior lawyer was adamant about fighting the case because he believed it is a fight for justice and against corruption. "So, it was worth it," reported BBC. While Chaturvedi took the case to the Supreme Court over Rs 20, Indian Railways also chose to continue fighting the case instead of settling it.
India's overloaded judiciary is being put in the spotlight by this case. An average case is likely to take 10-15 years to reach an end. Around 40 million cases are pending in the system and many people are waiting for justice.