Man wins 22-year-old court battle over $0.25 train ticket

A man in India has finally won a 22-year-long legal battle over a $0.25 railway ticket.

There's holding a grudge, and then there's waiting more than two decades to prove you're right.

The incident started in 1999, when Tungnath Chaturvedi purchased two tickets at the Mathura Cantonment railway station in North India only to be, wrongfully, charged and extra 20 rupees ($0.25/£0.21).

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And it seems he was having absolutely none of it.

Tungnath told the clerk serving him that he was overcharged, but he didn't receive a refund.

Tungnath, a lawyer himself, decided to take the matter to court, telling BBC News: "The railways also tried to dismiss the case, saying complaints against the railways should be addressed to a railway tribunal and not a consumer court."

ImageDB26 / Alamy Stock Photo

But, he persisted, dedicated to the principle of the thing, and even managed to use a '2021 Supreme Court ruling to prove that the matter could be heard in a consumer court', he said.

So, the case was heard and after a long hard fight, the railway was ordered to pay him 15,000 rupees ($189; £154).

If you're wondering how they got to that figure, that's the initial 20 rupees plus interest for the duration of the case.

Even though he won, Tungnath wasn't thrilled with the amount of time he had to waste.

"I have attended more than 100 hearings in connection with this case."

Dinodia Photos / Alamy Stock Photo

"But you can't put a price on the energy and time I've lost fighting this case."

The dedicated man added: "It's not the money that matters. This was always about a fight for justice and a fight against corruption, so it was worth it."

The one silver lining in this whole thing is that Tungnath is a lawyer so didn't have to pay legal fees, or travelling costs so at least that's something.

And his reason for sticking the case through is pretty admirable, as he said people 'can't get away with wrongdoings if people are prepared to question them about it'.

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