Archive · 4 Sep 2026
Southern Railway Ordered to Pay Arrested Passenger Rs 2 Lakh
K Jayasmitha bought a train ticket that showed she had a confirmed seat.
When she reached the seat, someone else was sitting there.
Railway staff said her ticket had been cancelled because a phone number was entered incorrectly.
The cancellation message went to a stranger, who cancelled the ticket without knowing it belonged to Jayasmitha.
She could not pay for another ticket immediately.
Railway staff removed her from the train at midnight and she was arrested.
The railway later found that the case against her was a mistake.
The State Human Rights Commission ordered Southern Railway to pay her Rs 2 lakh.
K Jayasmitha boarded train 16348 on July 30, 2023, with a confirmed reservation for berth 41 in coach S4.
She found another passenger occupying her berth and was told her ticket had been cancelled online.
After she could not pay a fresh Rs 500 fine, railway officials deboarded her at Aluva and handed her to the RPF.
She was arrested for travelling without a valid ticket, but the case was later withdrawn after a railway review found it was wrongly registered.
The SHRC ruled her midnight deboarding unlawful and ordered Southern Railway to pay Rs 2 lakh within one month.
- Who
- K Jayasmitha, Southern Railway officials, the Railway Protection Force, and the State Human Rights Commission.
- What
- A passenger was deboarded and arrested after an incorrectly cancelled train reservation, and Southern Railway was ordered to pay her Rs 2 lakh.
- When
- The journey occurred on July 30, 2023; the compensation was ordered in the subsequent human-rights proceedings.
- Where
- She travelled from Wadakkanchery to Thiruvananthapuram and was deboarded at Aluva.
- Why
- A single-digit error in her recorded mobile number sent booking messages to another person, who cancelled the reservation.
- Passenger
- K Jayasmitha, a native of Erumapetty in Thrissur and resident of Thiruvananthapuram
- Train
- Train 16348
- Reservation
- Berth 41, coach S4, from Wadakkanchery to Thiruvananthapuram
- Incident date
- July 30, 2023
- Initial fine
- Rs 500 for another berth
- Compensation
- Rs 2 lakh ordered against Southern Railway
- Payment deadline
- Within one month; failure within six weeks would attract 8% annual interest