A Delhi district consumer commission has ordered a travel agency and a bus owner to jointly pay ₹20,000, with 9% interest, after a family was allegedly made to travel on plastic stools despite booking sleeper berths and was later left stranded near Narnaul in Haryana.
The case involved Rajendra Singh Tomar, a resident of Brahmpuri, and his family. According to the complaint reported by Live Hindustan, Tomar booked six sleeper seats on a Shakti Travels bus for their return to Delhi after a family trip to Khatu Shyam. He paid ₹4,800 for the tickets.
The bus was scheduled to leave at 11 am on 1 January 2025 but departed at about 1.30 pm, the report said. After the journey began, the conductor allegedly asked the family to vacate their reserved sleeper seats, citing the allocation of some berths to other passengers through online booking. The family was then made to sit on plastic stools during the journey.
The seating dispute was followed by a second disruption later that night. At about 10.40 pm, the bus was stopped near Narnaul in Haryana. The driver and conductor allegedly told passengers that the bus had developed a fault and refused to take them further. The passengers were not provided an alternative vehicle or other transport arrangement, according to the complaint.
The family eventually hired a private taxi at a cost of ₹4,600 to reach Delhi around midnight. Tomar then approached the North-East District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission, seeking relief for the alleged failure in bus service and the additional expense incurred during the journey.
The commission’s bench, headed by president Surinder Kumar Sharma and member Adarsh Nain, found that the complainant had submitted the ticket, payment records and other documentary evidence in support of his claims. The travel agency and bus owner, identified in the report as Shakti Travels and the bus owner, could not rebut those documents during the proceedings.
The commission treated the alleged conduct as a deficiency in service and directed the two parties to pay ₹20,000 jointly, along with 9% interest. The order places responsibility on both the booking-side operator and the vehicle owner for the passenger’s booked service, the loss of reserved seating and the failure to arrange onward travel after the bus stopped.
