KANGRA: Cancelling a passenger’s confirmed bus booking just 17 minutes before the scheduled departure has cost online ticketing platform RedBus and a bus operator dearly, with a consumer court ordering them to pay compensation and legal expenses.
The matter pertains to October 5, 2023, involving a passenger named Jayant Patiyal from Kangra district. Patiyal had booked a ticket through RedBus for a journey from Palampur to Delhi in a bus operated by Bharmani Travels. The ticket, for which he paid ₹600, showed the departure time as 10:15 PM, with an arrival time in Delhi at 8:00 AM the following morning.
Patiyal reached the boarding point around 20 to 30 minutes before the scheduled departure. However, when he contacted the operator for details, he was informed that the last bus had already left at 8:00 PM. His ticket was officially cancelled only 17 minutes before the scheduled journey time.
Left stranded at night with an urgent need to reach Delhi, Patiyal was forced to book an emergency flight at a much higher cost, causing him significant financial loss and mental harassment. Following the incident, he filed a complaint with the Kangra District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, alleging a deficiency in service.
A bench comprising Commission President Himanshu Mishra and members Aarti Sood and Narayan Thakur heard the matter. The commission rejected the notion that online platforms can escape liability by merely selling tickets, ruling that it is their responsibility to ensure service availability and consumer convenience.
In its July 4 order, the commission stated that by listing a service that did not exist, RedBus Limited failed to exercise due diligence, which amounts to a deficiency in service and unfair trade practice. The commission ordered RedBus Limited and Bharmani Travels to jointly pay ₹10,000 as compensation and litigation costs to the passenger.
