RedBus, travel co ordered to pay Rs 10,000 compensation after man's Rs 600 ticket was cancelled 17 minutes before departure

A district consumer commission in Himachal Pradesh has held RedBus and a bus operator jointly liable for cancelling a passenger's confirmed ticket just 17 minutes before departure, forcing him to arrange alternate travel at the last minute. In its July 4 order, the commission ruled that online ticketing platforms cannot avoid responsibility by claiming to be mere intermediaries after accepting payment and confirming a booking.

What happened

The complainant, Jayant Patial, had booked a bus ticket from Palampur to Delhi through RedBus on October 5, 2023, paying Rs 600. The bus was scheduled to depart at 10:15 pm, and Patial reached the boarding point 20–30 minutes before the scheduled departure, according to the order.

When he contacted the bus operator, Bharmani Travels, he was informed that no bus was scheduled to leave at 10:15 pm and that the operator's last bus for the day had already departed at 8 pm.


Patial then contacted RedBus customer support and was assured that the matter would be looked into. However, at 9:58 pm—just 17 minutes before the scheduled departure—he received a message informing him that his booking had been cancelled and that a refund had been initiated.

As he had to reach Delhi urgently, Patial travelled nearly 40 km to the nearest airport and booked an expensive last-minute flight for the following morning. He later approached the consumer commission seeking compensation for financial loss, mental harassment and litigation costs.

RedBus's defence

RedBus argued that it was only an online platform connecting passengers with bus operators and had no control over bus schedules or operations. It said the information displayed on its platform was provided by the bus operators.

The company also submitted that it had refunded Rs 585 to Patial's bank account and Rs 60 to his RedBus wallet. It further claimed that it had offered to pay twice the ticket fare as a goodwill gesture, but Patial declined the offer and instead sought compensation of at least Rs 10,000.

Bharmani Travels did not appear before the commission despite notice and the matter proceeded ex parte against it.

Why the commission held RedBus liable

The bench, comprising president Hemanshu Mishra and members Arti Sood and Narayan Thakur, rejected RedBus's contention that it was merely an intermediary. The commission observed that once an online platform accepts payment, charges service fees and confirms a booking, it cannot disclaim responsibility if the promised service is unavailable.

"By listing non-existent services, opposite party number 1 failed to conduct due diligence, which amounts to a clear deficiency in service and unfair trade practice," the commission said.

Referring to the last-minute cancellation, the commission noted that "cancelling a confirmed ticket just seventeen minutes before the scheduled departure time reflects gross negligence on the part of the opposite parties."

The commission also observed that Bharmani Travels had failed to appear and explain why the scheduled service was not operated, leaving the complainant's allegations unrebutted.

It concluded that RedBus failed to verify the reliability of the services listed on its platform, while Bharmani Travels failed to operate the scheduled bus. As a result, both companies were held jointly and severally liable.

"Both opposite parties have directly contributed to the harassment, financial loss, and acute grievance caused to the consumer. Opposite party number 1 failed to ensure the reliability of the service listed on its commercial portal, while opposite party number 2 failed to operate the vehicle as scheduled. Therefore, both opposite party number 1 and opposite party number 2 are held jointly and severally liable to compensate the consumer," the commission further added.

The commission directed RedBus and Bharmani Travels to pay Rs 5,000 as compensation for mental agony and harassment and Rs 5,000 towards litigation expenses, taking the total compensation to Rs 10,000 in addition to the refund already received by Patial.

The amount must be paid within 30 days. If the companies fail to comply, the compensation will carry interest at 9% per annum from the date the complaint was filed until the payment is made.