A consumer court in Karachi has ordered Pakistan Railways to pay Rs50,000 in compensation to a passenger for “deficiency in service” after the Khyber Mail was delayed by more than four and a half hours, causing him inconvenience and mental stress.
Ayaz Ali Chachar, a lawyer, filed a complaint with the Consumer Protection Court (South) naming Pakistan Railways General Manager, and Divisional Superintendent Karachi as defendants.
Judge Abdul Ahad Memon directed the defendants to improve the railway service in all aspects to ensure smooth, timely and quality services. The complainant stated that he had booked a ticket for travelling from Ghotki to Karachi on the Khyber Mail on January 5, 2025. As per the scheduled timings, the train was to arrive at Ghotki station at 8:37pm and reach Karachi at 6:40am the following morning, he said, adding that contrary to the schedule, the train arrived at Ghotki at 11:10pm with a delay of more than two and a half hours, and eventually reached Karachi at 10:45am with a delay of more than four and a half hours from the scheduled arrival time.
The complainant pleaded that the defendants be directed to refund the ticket amount of Rs2,700- along with 23% bank markup for the year 2024, compensation by way of damages amounting to Rs5 million and any other relief deemed fit in the circumstances of the case.
In his written order, the judge observed, “The mental distress and inconvenience occasioned by such delay cannot be viewed in isolation from the ordinary human experience of travel, inasmuch as a passenger who plans his journey and subsequent professional or personal engagements around a specified arrival time is entitled to expect that the service provider shall adhere, within reasonable limits, to the schedule undertaken by it.
“Where such expectation is belied by hours of unexplained delay, more particularly on an overnight journey, the resultant hardship is not confined to mere loss of time but extends to disruption of sleep, anxiety regarding missed commitments, without any information or redress from the service provider.
“In the case of the complainant, the anxiety and distress occasioned by an arrival delayed by more than four and a half hours would naturally be more acute, and the resultant mental strain suffered by him is a foreseeable and direct consequence of the deficient service rendered by the defendant.”
The judge said that such failure on the part of the defendants to operate trains and ensure that they complete the journey within the scheduled time, without any explanation or justification having been offered on record, squarely constituted deficiency in service as contemplated under the Act.
“Under the Sindh Consumer Protection Act, 2014, any fault, imperfection, inadequacy, shortcoming, or deficiency in the quality, nature, manner, or performance of services amounts to deficiency in service,” the court held.
It ruled that the complainant was entitled to “reasonable compensation by way of general damages, which are hereby quantified at Rs.50,000, the same being just and reasonable in the facts and circumstances of the case.”
