The Indian lawyer Tungnath Chaturvedi assures that, although he obtained an insignificant compensation, it was always “a fight for justice and against corruption”.
A lawyer from the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, who had sued the national railway company in 1999 because he was overcharged by 20 rupees – about 25 cents on the dollar – when buying two train tickets, won the case after almost 22 years of trial. lawsuit and more than 100 hearings, local media report.
Tungnath Chaturvedi, who represented himself in consumer rights court, earlier this month got North East Railway (a subsidiary of the national Indian Railways) to pay him back his money at 12% annual interest, plus a Rs 15,000 fine, for an approximate total of 191 dollars. The court also ordered to raise the interest rate to 15% in case the amount is not paid within 30 days after the sentence.
In 1999, when Chaturvedi was about to buy two train tickets, then costing 35 rupees each — 44 cents on the dollar — he handed the railway cashier 100 rupees and received only 10 in change. The man complained to the clerk for charging him 90 rupees and not 70, but they ignored him and did not give him any refund.
Tungnath, 66, tells in a recent interview that the railway company tried to dismiss the case and that, in addition, the hearings were delayed on many occasions because the judges were on vacation or on leave. “I have attended more than 100 hearings related to this case, but you can’t put a price on the energy and time I’ve wasted fighting this,” he said.
Although his family tried to dissuade him from the claim and the compensation he obtained is insignificant compared to the mental anguish of so many years of legal battles, the lawyer confesses that it was always “a fight for justice and against corruption.” . He also believes that his story can inspire others to understand that don’t give up ‘even when the fight seems hard.
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Source: RT
