HRTC charges Rs 29 extra on return ticket from Haridwar; passenger says super luxury toll paid for ordinary bus, wins Rs 50,000

Vinod Kedia bought a bus ticket from Una to Haridwar and back, expecting to pay whatever toll HRTC charges on that route. On his onward journey the toll on his ticket read Rs 26. On the return journey, travelling the same route the very next day, his ticket showed Rs 55 as toll, a jump of Rs 29 with no explanation given to him at the counter.

Kedia refused to accept this quietly and took the matter to the District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission in Una. After a hearing, the commission ruled in his favour, holding that HRTC had overcharged him and caused him needless harassment in the process.

What happened on the Una to Haridwar route


Kedia travelled by an ordinary HRTC bus from Una to Haridwar and back. His ticket for the onward trip, Annexure C-2, showed a total fare of Rs 488, made up of a base fare of Rs 451, toll of Rs 26 and other levies of Rs 11. On the return trip his ticket, Annexure C-3, showed toll charged at Rs 55 instead of Rs 26, even though nothing about the route or the bus had changed.

Kedia also placed on record a reply he received under the Right to Information Act. This reply showed that in 2024, the actual bus fare for the Una to Haridwar route was Rs 472. Going by his tickets, he was charged Rs 488 on one leg and Rs 517 on the other, both higher than what the RTI reply stated.

A letter written by the bus conductor was also part of the case file. In it, the conductor explained that on an earlier date he had charged less toll because passengers had refused to pay the extra amount being demanded. The commission did not find this a valid justification, since a conductor cannot decide on his own how much toll a passenger should be charged based on what other passengers agreed to pay.

Why HRTC's defence did not hold up

HRTC told the commission that the toll hike reflected an increase made by the National Highways Authority of India on that route, and that its own board of directors had cleared a matching hike in ticket toll charges for its buses.

The commission examined the documents HRTC placed on record, including a letter dated August 12, 2024, and committee proceedings showing toll increases on the Una to Chandigarh and Chandigarh to Haridwar stretch. But it found that none of these papers actually stated the specific toll amount that was increased. The order noted, "It has not been shown as to how the toll was increased from Rupees 26 to 55 in the ticket."

The commission also pointed to a critical gap: HRTC produced no record from the National Highways Authority of India itself showing that toll on the Haridwar to Una stretch had gone up. Without that, HRTC's own internal letter and committee notes were not enough to prove the hike was genuine.

There was a further problem with the letter HRTC relied on. That letter applied only to super luxury buses, while Kedia had travelled on an ordinary bus, as his tickets clearly showed. The commission held that a rate hike meant for a different category of bus could not be applied to Kedia's journey.

HRTC's own records added to its troubles. A waybill report dated October 28, 2024, showed toll on the same route still listed at Rs 26 as late as that date, with the rate rising to Rs 55 only from November 9, 2024. This meant even HRTC's internal documents did not support charging Kedia Rs 55 in August 2024, when he actually travelled.

The commission's order

The commission held that HRTC had failed to prove the toll hike was approved by any competent authority for the route and bus type Kedia used. It concluded that charging him Rs 29 more than what was due amounted to deficiency in service and an unfair trade practice on HRTC's part.

HRTC has been directed to refund Rs 29 to Kedia, along with interest at 9 percent per annum calculated from the date he filed his complaint until the amount is actually paid, within 30 days of receiving a copy of the order. The commission noted that Kedia was forced to go to court over what began as a small overcharge, and for that harassment it awarded him Rs 30,000 as compensation for mental tension, along with Rs 20,000 towards his litigation costs.

Including the refund, interest and compensation, the total amount HRTC has been ordered to pay comes to roughly Rs 50,000.

The order was passed by commission President D.R. Thakur, along with members Minakshi Rana and Anoop Kumar.