Strict Liability Of Railway For Untoward Incident: Bombay HC Grants ₹8 Lakh Compensation To Kin Of Man Who Died In Train Accident

The Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench has held that there is a strict liability of the Railway to compensate for an untoward incident. It granted compensation of Rs. 8 lakhs to the family of a man who got out of a train due to a fire in its bogie and died after getting hit by another train on the adjacent track.

A Single Bench of Justice M.S. Jawalkar observed, “The Railway is totally failed to establish that the incident is covered by the exception to Section 124-A. There is no case of suicide nor self-inflicted injury or criminal act for which intention is required to commit such act, nor it is claimed that he was under intoxication. As such, the respondent Union of India cannot claim that it was not untoward incident. It is strict liability of the Railway to compensate for such untoward incident.”

The Bench said that if the case comes within the purview of Section 124-A of the Railways Act, 1989, it is wholly irrelevant as to who was at fault.

Advocate R.G. Bagul appeared on behalf of the appellants while Advocate Neerja Choubey appeared on behalf of the respondent.

Brief Facts -

The appellants, the parents of the deceased preferred an appeal after being aggrieved by the judgment passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal whereby it dismissed their claim of Rs. 8 lakhs along with an interest from the date of the train accident. The deceased was travelling on a train by purchasing a valid railway ticket. When the said train was passing from Makodi railway station, suddenly smoke and a fire started emitting from its bogie.

The passengers of the aforesaid train were shouting for help and some had pulled the alarm chain and thereafter, they alighted from the bogie and came on a railway track to save their lives. Suddenly another train came on the same track which hit the deceased who was standing over there and hence he died on the spot.

The High Court in view of the facts and circumstances of the case noted, “There shall be exception to Section 124-A, where Railway Authorities are not liable to pay if injury is occurred due to suicide or attempted suicide, self-inflicted injury, his own criminal act, any act committed by him in a state of intoxication or insanity, any natural cause or disease or medical or surgical treatment.”

The Court further noted that the order passed by the tribunal is liable to be set aside.

“As such, admittedly, deceased was travelling from Bokaro to Secunderabad in a train on the day of incident wherein due to hot excel there was fire and smoke and passengers required to board down from the train. Initial burden is discharged by examining the co-passengers of the deceased that they were holding valid ticket. As I said earlier the ticket may have lost during the accident, as he was dashed by running train”, said the Court.

The Court, therefore, directed the respondent/Centre to pay Rs. 8,00,000/- to the claimants/appellants within a period of three months along with 6% interest from the date of filing of the application till its realization and that after the deposit of the amount, it shall be distributed equally in favour of the claimants.

Accordingly, the Court allowed the appeal and quashed the judgment of the Railway Claims Tribunal.

Cause Title- Dhaneshwar Rajak & Anr. v. Union of India

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