Task 5

Legal Solution

by,

Aditya Das, Intern at ubAdvocate

Mr. X should have followed these steps to avoid the present situation :
1. In view of the present situation one must first approach the TTE/ coach
attendant/ or guards and lodge a complaint. Irrespective of the lost materials
whether gold/ silver or any other essentials.
2. An FIR form will be given to the complaint. The same needs to be filled up
to the best of complainant knowledge.
3. This complaint will then be forwarded to the Police Station for further
investigation.
4. Do remember that the complainant need not to alter travel plans to lodge
this complaint. The complaint raised with the TTE will then be forwarded to
the concerned police station.
5. Furnish a complete list of items that have been stolen. This will help the
police.

As per the Directive issued by the Indian Railways, in the event of theft, theft or
tampering while travelling, travelers may reach the railway personnel available in
the train, i.e. the conductor, coach assistant, train guard or police officer of the
Government Railway Police (GRP) or the Railway Protection Force (RPF) for FIR
accommodation. The staff shall immediately then forward it to the closest available
GRP police station, which shall keep the victim briefed of the measures undertaken
in his or her case. In addition, if the aggrieved person faces any difficulties in filing
an FIR, he or she may approach the RPF Assistance Posts at major railway stations
for any assistance.
Travelers can also lodge a complaint through the passenger-friendly “customer
Web Portal and smartphone apps.” Passengers who wish to make a grievance and
make any recommendations can simply log on to the Indian Railways web portal.
Not only that, but the smartphone app will also have a panic button for females in
distress as well. Another important feature is that train passengers will also be able
to complain offline of this phone app.

Now talking about the complex part is that early registration of FIR it needs to be
registered at the earliest point of time after the incident. Any delay in registration
has to be adequately explained. Delay in registration may cause a suspicion as to
whether it was an afterthought or a concocted version.

If it was a theft than under Section 378 of IPC , Theft - Whoever, intending to take
dishonestly any moveable property out of the possession of any person without that
person’s consent, moves that property in order to such taking, is said to commit
theft. The complaint needs to be registered and under Section 379 of IPC ,
Punishment for theft. -. Whoever commits theft shall be punished with
imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years, or
with fine, or with both.

The complainant should go through the FIR copy provided by the police as under
Law a free copy of FIR is to be provided to the complainant Cr.P.C., section
154(2) which say that the informant has the right to get a copy of FIR immediately
after the registration of the FIR .

Case relating to Theft on Train:

On February 21, 2014, Ramila Devi, a resident of Mysuru, traveled from
Bengaluru to Rajasthan with her family. They were all in the Garib Nawaz
Express. Minutes after the train started to move, Ramila picked up her bottle of
water to get some water. Just then, a guy came down from the top of the berth,
grabbed her bag, and hopped out from the moving train. According to an article in
The Times of India, the handbag that Ramila was carrying held 488 gm of gold and
Rs 90,000 value of cash. Ramila ‘s husband quickly pulled out of the emergency
chain, which managed to bring the train to a stop. He then informed the Train
Ticket Examiner (TTE) about the theft and asked him about the action to be taken.

Despite several attempts at approaching the police to file a complaint, Ramila and
her family got no respite. It was then that they decided to file a formal complaint
with the Bangalore IV Additional District Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum on
November 27th, 2014.

In the petition that Ramila filed before the court, she mentioned that on the advice
of the TTE, they continued the journey since the TTE informed them that a formal
complaint could be lodged after 30 days of the crime.

the litigation lasted for over ten months. At the end of it all, she was awarded Rs
4,42,100 and an additional Rs 5,000 towards litigation costs. The judge, while
passing the order, criticised Ramila for being careless with her bag and also pulled
up the railway authorities for not being stringent with their security measures.