Man sues BMTC for not returning Re 1 change, wins ₹3,000 after 3-yr court battle: Report

A 37-year-old man took the Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) to court over not being paid back Re 1 change by a bus conductor and won ₹3,000 relief after a three-year court battle. The man has been identified as Ramesh Naik L, a Tumakuru resident, by The Times of India.

The incident occurred in September 2019, when Naik was a passenger of a BMTC Volvo bus from Bengaluru's Shantinagar bus depot to Majestic. While his fare cost ₹29, he had paid ₹30 to a female conductor, and asked for Re 1 change. However, he faced ridicule at the hands of the conductor, who did not return his due amount.

Angered by this, he approached senior officials from the BMTC with a complaint against the bus conductor, but was mocked by them as well. As Naik was determined to teach the conductor a lesson, he then sued the BMTC and its managing director at the Bangalore IVth additional district consumer disputes redressal commission in Shantinagar, accusing them of ‘deficiency in service’. Naik also asked for ₹15,000 in compensation for the ‘ill treatment’ faced by him.

After three years of court battle, the court pronounced its verdict on January 31, 2023, observing that it is the customer's right to receive the balance due to him, even if it is Re 1. While the court conceded that the complaint was trivial in nature, the judges said the BMTC bus conductor's “negligent and careless service” is unacceptable.

“He is protected by the Customer Protection Act, 1986 to receive a rightful compensation from BMTC for the lapses,” the judges of the consumer court added.

Naik therefore ended up winning a refund of Re 1, and a compensation of ₹3,000 for the ill-treatment and ridicule that he faced by the conductor and the senior officials of the BMTC.