An Indian lawyer has won a 22-year legal battle against the national railway operator to reclaim 20 rupees ($0.25) he was overcharged for a ticket.
Tungnath Chaturvedi, 66, bought a ticket from Mathura Cantonment station to the nearby city of Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh state in 1999.
But a clerk at the counter charged the lawyer 90 rupees ($1.13) instead of 70 rupees ($0.88).
Mr Chaturvedi complained, but the clerk refused to give him a refund.
This is not about money. This is about corruption that is deeply rotting our system
Tungnath Chaturvedi
The lawyer eventually filed a case against Indian Railways in a consumer court in his home town of Mathura.
After 120 court hearings spanning more than two decades, and about 20,000 rupees in expenses, the court ruled last week in Mr Chaturvedi's favour and ordered the railway operator to pay a fine of 15,000 rupees and to refund his 20 rupees plus interest of 12 per cent, rising to 15 per cent if the sum was not paid within 30 days.
“This is not about money. This is about corruption that is deeply rotting our system,” Mr Chaturvedi told The National. “My victory is a victory against corruption.”
His story is a classic example of the sluggishness of the country’s judicial system, where cases can drag on for decades because of a huge backlog of cases and an inadequate number of judges.
Mr Chaturvedi said the railways offered to pay him more than the refund he was seeking to withdraw his case, and then tried to argue that the consumer court was not the right forum for such complaints.
But the lawyer, who represented himself, used a Supreme Court ruling in 2021 to prove that the matter was eligible to be heard by the consumer court.
He said his family tried repeatedly to convince him that his case was pointless and a waste of time and money.
“My kids often asked why I was fighting, but I value my money. We fight for the rights of others; if we have faced injustice, why wouldn’t we fight for our rights?” he said.
“Our country’s judiciary is sluggish and people don’t get justice because they don’t have the time and patience. But I did not struggle because, being a lawyer, I fought my case patiently.”
if you go
The flights
Air Astana flies direct from Dubai to Almaty from Dh2,440 per person return, and to Astana (via Almaty) from Dh2,930 return, both including taxes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Almaty cost from Dh1,944 per night including taxes; and in Astana the new Ritz-Carlton Astana (www.marriott) costs from Dh1,325; alternatively, the new St Regis Astana costs from Dh1,458 per night including taxes.
When to visit
March-May and September-November
Visas
Citizens of many countries, including the UAE do not need a visa to enter Kazakhstan for up to 30 days. Contact the nearest Kazakhstan embassy or consulate.
I Care A Lot
Directed by: J Blakeson
Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage
3/5 stars
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
Bookshops: A Reader's History by Jorge Carrión (translated from the Spanish by Peter Bush),
Biblioasis
The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable
Amitav Ghosh, University of Chicago Press
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
Getting%20there
%3Cp%3EGiven%20its%20remote%20location%2C%20getting%20to%20Borneo%20can%20feel%20daunting%20even%20for%20the%20most%20seasoned%20traveller.%20But%20you%20can%20fly%20directly%20from%20Kuala%20Lumpur%20to%20Sandakan%20and%20Sepilok%20is%20only%20half%20an%20hour%20away%20by%20taxi.%20Sandakan%20has%20plenty%20of%20accommodation%20options%2C%20while%20Sepilok%20has%20a%20few%20nature%20lodges%20close%20to%20the%20main%20attractions.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Quick%20facts
%3Cul%3E%0A%3Cli%3EStorstockholms%20Lokaltrafik%20(SL)%20offers%20free%20guided%20tours%20of%20art%20in%20the%20metro%20and%20at%20the%20stations%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EThe%20tours%20are%20free%20of%20charge%3B%20all%20you%20need%20is%20a%20valid%20SL%20ticket%2C%20for%20which%20a%20single%20journey%20(valid%20for%2075%20minutes)%20costs%2039%20Swedish%20krone%20(%243.75)%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3ETravel%20cards%20for%20unlimited%20journeys%20are%20priced%20at%20165%20Swedish%20krone%20for%2024%20hours%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3Cli%3EAvoid%20rush%20hour%20%E2%80%93%20between%209.30%20am%20and%204.30%20pm%20%E2%80%93%20to%20explore%20the%20artwork%20at%20leisure%3C%2Fli%3E%0A%3C%2Ful%3E%0A
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make
When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.
“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.
This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).
|
Age
|
$250 a month
|
$500 a month
|
$1,000 a month
|
|
25
|
$640,829
|
$1,281,657
|
$2,563,315
|
|
35
|
$303,219
|
$606,439
|
$1,212,877
|
|
45
|
$131,596
|
$263,191
|
$526,382
|
|
55
|
$44,351
|
$88,702
|
$177,403
|
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
