Every Minute Detail About Travel Not Expected From Claimants To Be Proved As Per Railway Authority’s Record: Bombay HC
The Bombay High Court, Nagpur Bench has reiterated that every minute detail about the travel of the deceased cannot be expected from the claimants of the deceased to be proved and correct as per the record of the Railway Authority.
A Single Bench of Justice M.S. Jawalkar observed, “As held by this Court in First Appeal No. 431/2019 (Chandabai and others Vs. Union of India), every minutes details about the travel of the deceased cannot be expected to be proved and correct as per the record of Railway Authority as the claimants are neither eye witnesses to the incident nor they were travelling with the deceased. In such eventuality, the claimants are left with no other option, but to rely on the documents as are collected by the Railway Authority during investigation and also the other oral information received from the friends and the deceased himself before his travel. Even if, investigation report is perused, the Investigating Officer is not sure whether the deceased fallen down from the running train or hit by the running train.”
The Bench said that it has to be presumed when the deceased was having a valid ticket, he was a bonafide passenger of that train.
Advocate R.G. Bagul appeared for the appellant while Advocate Neerja Choubey appeared for the respondent.
In this case, the appellant was aggrieved by the judgment passed by the Member (Judicial) and Member (Technical) Railway Claims Tribunal whereby the claim plea was dismissed. The case of the appellant before the Railway Claims Tribunal was that on the date of the incident, the deceased was travelling by Amravati-Nagpur Passenger Train from Badnera to Dhamangaon.
The deceased had purchased a journey ticket and boarded the said train and as usual, the train was overcrowded, hence, due to the jostling and pushing of passengers the deceased fell from the running train at the Pulgaon Railway line near the starter signal and died on the spot. The appellant being a mother had filed a claim before the concerned tribunal for claiming compensation of Rs. 4 lakhs on account of the death of his son.
The High Court in view of the above facts noted, “… it is highly improbable that person purchased ticket of train 10-15 minute before its arrival to Badnera station to reach at Pulgaon around 20 minutes before the said train arrived at Pulgaon. … In my considered opinion, there might be mistake in mentioning time in memo by Station Manager, Pulgaon, as that was the only train going from Amravati to Nagpur and when a person purchase a ticket at Badnera just before 10-15 minutes cannot reach at Pulgaon before train reaches to the Pulgaon and commit suicide or tried to cross the railway crossing.”
The Court further noted that no inference other than falling from the train at Pulgaon can be drawn, in view of the ticket possessed by the deceased at the time of the accident/untoward incident.
“There is no witnesses examined by the railway to show that he was crossing the railway track and met with an accident. The learned Tribunal failed to appreciate all these facts. … the learned Tribunal ought to have accepted the piece of evidence i.e. railway ticket possessed by the deceased which was valid and was for the same day and body was detected on railway track”, said the Court.
The Court observed that the order passed by the tribunal is totally perverse and erroneous and is liable to be set aside. It, therefore, directed the respondent to pay the appellant the sum of Rs. 8 lakhs within three months.
Accordingly, the Court allowed the appeal and quashed the order of the tribunal.
Cause Title- Kamlabai v. Union of India
