TN Govt Bus Leaves Woman, Child Behind At Night Halt; Consumer Court Orders Compensation

A Chennai consumer commission ordered the State Transport Corporation to compensate Poongodi after a bus left her and her daughter stranded at night.

The commission cited negligence and a threat to passenger safety, awarding Rs 20,000 plus reimbursement.

A government bus’s negligence left a woman and her young daughter stranded in the middle of the night, prompting the Chennai North Consumer Redressal Commission to order compensation for the ordeal. Poongodi, a resident of Annanagar, Chennai, was travelling from Koyambedu to Polur with her 9-year-old daughter, Dakshita, on the night of September 29, 2023. During a halt near Vandanangur, she stepped out briefly with her daughter — only to find that the bus had left without checking whether all passengers had re-boarded.

Forced to chase the bus by boarding another one, Poongodi later discovered that her headset and Rs 1,500 kept in her baggage were missing. She subsequently filed a complaint with the Chennai North Consumer Redressal Commission, accusing the State Transport Corporation of endangering her and her child’s safety.

The bench comprising Commission Chairman D. Gopinath, members Kavitha Kannan and D.R. Sivakumar ruled that abandoning a woman and child at night amounted to a clear deficiency in service and posed a serious threat to passenger safety. The Commission observed that the Transport Corporation had failed in its basic duty of ensuring passenger security.

The Commission ordered the State Transport Corporation (Thiruvannamalai Zone, Villupuram Division), its 3rd General Manager, and the Vandavasi Branch Manager to pay Poongodi Rs 20,000 as compensation, in addition to reimbursing the value of the missing items. In case of delay, the compensation will carry 9% interest.