The ticket price was 43 euro cents each. When the man paid 100 rupees, he only got 10 rupees back. He was entitled to an extra twenty rupees. When the lawyer did not get his money back, he started a lawsuit. Hundreds of hearings have now been held on the case over a sum of less than a euro.
“But you can’t monetize the energy and time I lost on it,” Tungnath Chaturvedi, 66, told the BBC. Winning the case does not make up for the ‘mental pain’, he says.
He blames the length of the lawsuit on the inconsistency of the judiciary in India. In addition, the railway company would have tried to ensure that it would never go to trial.
“This case is not about the amount of money, but about a fight for justice and a fight against corruption, so it was worth it.” The man hopes to be a source of inspiration for others, even though the battle looks difficult.
The man receives about 182 euros from the railway company, but also the overpaid 25 cents. With an interest rate of 12 percent per year over the period from 1999 to 2022, that is.