Eviction of woman passenger in Kerala: SHRC orders railways to pay ₹2 lakh compensation
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission has ordered the Railways to pay ₹2 lakh in compensation to a woman who was wrongfully evicted and arrested due to a ticketing system error. The commission ruled that the railway staff failed to verify the passenger's claims before taking punitive action.
Why it matters
It highlights accountability in public service and the need for better grievance redressal mechanisms within large state-run transportation systems.
The Kerala State Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has directed Railways to pay a compensation of ₹2 lakh to a woman who was evicted from a train in the middle of the night despite having a reservation ticket, arrested in the name of ticketless travel and let off on bail.
The commission comprising chairperson Alexander Thomas gave Railways a time of one month to pay the compensation to K. Jaya Smitha of Nelluvay, Thrissur district who was employed in Thiruvananthapuram.
Railway authorities could recover the compensation from erring officials after a comprehensive high-level inquiry, the commission said.
The petitioner had booked a ticket on train no. 16348 from Wadakkanchery to Thiruvananthapuram for July 30, 2023. However, she found her berth occupied. When she approached the TTE, she was told her ticket was web cancelled.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in