Man spends ‘sleepless’ night in overcrowded train, wins Rs 50,000 against Railways

4 min readNew DelhiJul 7, 2026 06:00 PM IST

The complainant alleged that after he had boarded the train, he found that his compartment was fully occupied and filled with unreserved passengers. (Image generated using AI)

A Kerala consumer commission has held Indian Railways liable for deficiency in service and directed it to pay Rs 50,000 compensation to a passenger who was allegedly forced to spend the entire night without sleep due to the overcrowded compartment despite his confirmed Tatkal ticket.

President P V Jayarajan and members Preetha G Nair and Viju V R directed the general manager, southern railway headquarters office, general manager of the south western railway, and additional divisional railway manager, Thiruvananthapuram, to jointly and severally pay compensation for the mental agony suffered by the complainant and Rs 3,000 towards the cost of the proceedings.

“Mere pleadings are not evidence; hence without any evidence from the opposite party 1 to 3 we cannot say that they have attended the issue and cleared the unreserved passengers from the reserved compartments, which amounts to deficiency in service on the part of the opposite parties 1 to 3,” the order dated June 29 read.

Overcrowded compartment

According to the complainant, he had booked a confirmed Tatkal ticket for travelling from Bengaluru to Kochuveli.

He alleged that after he had boarded the train, he was disappointed to find that his compartment was fully occupied and filled with unreserved passengers.

The complainant stated that he contacted the customer service, but the customer service agent failed to provide any favourable response and instead asked him to co-operate citing Navaratri holidays.

He alleged that despite complaining through X (Twitter), the issue was not addressed by any of the officials.

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The complainant said that he was forced to spend the entire night without sleep due to the overcrowded compartment. He alleged that the walking path was also filled with unreserved passengers, leaving no space for passengers to walk or even stand properly. Alleging deficiency in service by the Railways, he moved consumer commission.

Relief to passenger

The Railways admitted that the train was overcrowded because the journey coincided with four consecutive holidays during the Pooja festival.

It contended that after receiving the complaint, the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE), with the assistance of the Railway Protection Force (RPF), cleared the unreserved passengers at the railway station and restored the complainant’s reserved seat.

It argued that there was no deficiency in service and sought dismissal of the complaint.

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On examining the copy of the complaint made through X, the commission observed that the grievance raised by the complainant was not sorted out by the Railways.

The commission also examined the photographs of the train compartment and held that the complainant’s allegations were correct.

The commission further held that the Railways’ claim that the issue had been resolved could not be accepted in the absence of evidence.

“The opposite parties 1 to 3 has contended that the grievance of the complainant was sorted out can’t be taken into an account as the opposite parties 1 to 3 has not produced any evidence to prove the same. The pleadings can’t be taken as evidence,” the order read.

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The commission held that mere pleadings are not evidence and without any evidence, it could not be concluded that the issue was resolved.

Holding Railways guilty of deficiency in service, the commission allowed the complaint and directed it to pay compensation to the complainant within one month.

For consumer-related grievances, individuals may contact the consumer helpline in their respective states and union territories (Kerala helpline:1800-425-1550) or call the National Consumer Helpline at 1915 for assistance.

Ashish Shaji is a Senior Sub-Editor at The Indian Express, where he specializes in legal journalism. Combining a formal education in law with years of editorial experience, Ashish provides authoritative coverage and nuanced analysis of court developments and landmark judicial decisions for a national audience.

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