A consumer forum in Andhra Pradesh has directed a private bus service provider to pay Rs 10,000 as compensation and litigation costs to a passenger whose luggage went missing during a journey from Guntur to Bengaluru, but declined the passenger’s Rs 1.25 lakh claim for the valuables that were allegedly in the bag, due to a lack of evidence.
A bench of president Dr Vajrala V L Narasimha Rao and members K Vijaya Lakshmi and G Punna Reddy of the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Guntur, partly allowed the complaint, while declining the complainant’s claim towards the full value of the allegedly missing belongings.
“He is entitled to the nominal compensation from the opposite party no.1 (bus service provider) for Rs 7, 500 and costs for legal expenditure of Rs 2, 500 only would meet the both ends of justice,” the order dated June 5 read.
The complainant, who works in Bengaluru, travelled on the opposite party’s bus on May 15, 2023, after booking a ticket. Before boarding, he handed over a bag to the bus cleaner for storage in the luggage compartment and received a baggage tag. He alleged that the bag contained clothes, identity documents, Rs 10,000 in cash, a Lenovo laptop, and an eight-gram gold ring.
On reaching Bengaluru the next morning, he noticed that his bag, kept by the cleaner in the locker, was missing. The complainant informed the bus driver immediately and later approached the bus operator’s offices in Guntur and Vijayawada. Despite submitting a written representation and lodging a police complaint, he claimed that the operator failed to trace the luggage or provide any meaningful response.
Feeling aggrieved by the lack of response, the complainant approached the consumer forum alleging deficiency in service and claimed compensation. The opposite party did not contest the proceedings, following which it was proceeded against ex parte.
No proof submitted
- The commission examined materials submitted by the complainant, including the bus ticket and the letter intimating the authorities about the missing bag.
- It observed that the complainant’s bag may have gone missing in the luggage locker of the bus.
- However, the complainant had not produced any evidence to prove that the missing bag actually contained the laptop, cash, gold ring and other articles for which he sought reimbursement.
Nominal compensation
The commission held that since the complainant had not furnished any documentary proof to show that clothes, ID proofs like Aadhaar, Rs 10,000 cash, a laptop and an 8-gram gold ring were there in the bag, he is not entitled to the compensation of Rs 1.25 lakh that was sought. However, he is entitled to nominal compensation and litigation costs.
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Accordingly, the commission directed the bus operator to pay Rs 7,500 as compensation and Rs 2,500 towards litigation costs within two months.
Significance of ruling
The decision highlights that while transport operators can be held liable for deficiency in service when passengers‘ checked in luggage goes missing, consumers must substantiate claims for the value of the lost contents with documentary or other credible evidence. In the absence of proof regarding the items allegedly carried, consumer forums may award only nominal compensation for the loss of baggage and the inconvenience caused, rather than the full value claimed.
For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states (Andhra Pradesh: 0866-2551431) or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.
Rs 50k relief for woman
In another case, the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, Kurnool, directed ride-hailing platform Ola to pay Rs 50,000 compensation and Rs 5,000 towards the costs of litigation to a woman who was allegedly abandoned mid-journey by an autorickshaw driver while travelling to appear for the Andhra Pradesh Junior Civil Judge Mains Examination.
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A bench comprising Karanam Kishore Kumar (president) and members N Narayana Reddy and S Nazima Kausar noted that the driver’s conduct in diverting the route, demanding extra money and abandoning the complainant midway amounted to gross misconduct and deficiency in service. “The material placed on record sufficiently establishes negligence and deficiency in service on the part of the opposite party (Ola) resulting in mental agony, inconvenience and hardship to the complainant,” the consumer commission noted in its order dated May 25.