The District Consumer Commission, New Delhi, held IRCTC guilty of serving unhygienic food after a passenger found a dead worm in Veg Biryani on the Poorva Express. The Commission said IRCTC is “expected to maintain standards” and awarded Rs 25,000 as compensation.
The District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC), New Delhi, has directed the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to pay a compensation of Rs 25,000 to a passenger after finding it guilty of serving unhygienic food containing a “huge dead worm” during his train journey.
The case was decided by the Bench of Monika A. Srivastava (President) and Kiran Kaushal (Member), who held that IRCTC was
“deficient in its services vis-a-vis the complainant,” as he had to go through “a great deal of mental and medical agony.”
The incident took place on 28 December 2018, when the complainant was travelling from New Delhi to Jharkhand on the Poorva Express.
During the journey, he purchased a plate of Veg Biryani from the IRCTC pantry car for Rs 80. Soon after starting his meal, he noticed something strange in the food. Upon closer inspection, he discovered “a huge dead white worm” in the biryani.
The complainant immediately began feeling unwell, suffering from severe stomach pain and vomiting. As he was travelling alone on a running train, he could not get any immediate medical treatment.
He promptly reported the issue on the official railway helpline number 139. However, instead of receiving help, the complainant alleged that
“he was being pressurised by an IRCTC vendor to take back his complaint.”
When the train reached his destination, the complainant’s health condition worsened, and he was admitted to a hospital for treatment.
Following this incident, he filed a complaint before the DCDRC, alleging serious deficiency in service by IRCTC and demanded Rs 5 lakh as compensation.
In support of his complaint, he produced a written complaint dated 28 December 2018, video evidence of the incident stored on a pen drive, hospital receipts, his train ticket, and a reply from the official railway portal which conveyed
“deep regret and apology on the inconvenience caused to the complainant and the service provider had been warned with penalty imposed.”
The Commission carefully examined all the evidence, including the video recording. It observed that “the white worm was clearly visible in the biryani.”
The DCDRC noted that IRCTC had failed in its duty to provide hygienic food to passengers, which caused the complainant “a lot of inconvenience and mental agony.”
The Bench also pointed out that although IRCTC had expressed regret for the incident,
“the same is not sufficient given the physical and mental trauma the complainant had to go through.”
It further remarked that
“it is expected from IRCTC to maintain certain standards and to check the quality of food that is being served to the consumers while travelling.”
The Commission emphasized that passengers rely on IRCTC to provide safe and hygienic meals during train journeys, and failure to maintain food standards amounts to a deficiency in service.
After evaluating all the materials and arguments, the DCDRC concluded that IRCTC was indeed responsible for serving unhygienic food and for the mental and physical suffering of the complainant.
Accordingly, the Bench directed IRCTC to pay Rs 25,000 as compensation to the complainant for the distress and health problems he suffered because of the contaminated food.
The order serves as a reminder to IRCTC and other public service providers that apologies alone cannot replace accountability and that quality standards must always be maintained, especially when public health is involved.
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