Travellers' rights

Diljeet Titus

In the realm of consumer protection, the Consumer Protection Act (CPA), 1986, is regarded as the 'magna carta' or great charter of rights. To meet the expectations of consumers, the CPA was amended for the third time in 2002 to widen the definition of consumer, manufacturer, restrictive trade practice, unfair trade practices, service, etc.

The term 'service' encompasses a range of sectors such as transport, telephone, electricity, housing, banking, medical treatment and the like. If services hired or agreed to be availed of are deficient in any respect, the consumer can file a complaint with the Consumer Redressal Forum. If the forum is satisfied that the services rendered suffer from any of the specified deficiencies, it can issue orders to remove these, return the price paid by the consumer, pay compensation on account of negligence by the opposite party. Here is a look at what constitutes deficiency in service in the travel sector.

Air travel: Under the CPA, the services offered by public and private airlines constitute 'service' for consideration. The deficiencies for which one can claim redressal under the CPA include delay in flights attributed to negligence on part of airlines, shortcoming in the supply of food on board, departure before time, cancellation of flight and non-refunding of ticket price, loss and damage of baggage, etc.

Railways: Passengers travelling by train on payment of a stipulated fare are consumers and the facility of the transportation provided by the railways is a service as defined under the CPA. Deficiency of service includes non-working fans, injury due to rusty nails, no water in the toilets, cancellation of confirmed reservation to accommodate VIPs, loss of luggage of passengers in reserved compartments, inadequate safety and security measures by the railways, lack of pantry cars in super-fast trains, etc.

Road services: Passengers who travel by buses, taxis, etc, can file for deficiency of service under the CPA, irrespective of whether the transport is provided by the statutory road transport corporations or by private operators. Deficiency of services includes excess money charged in respect of goods alone contrary to the fixed fare, and death caused while travelling by bus due to negligence of the driver.

Achint Singh Gyani, Associate, Titus & Co, assisted with the article.

Diljeet Titus is Founder and Managing Partner, Titus & Co