$~8 to 10
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
+ FAO 557/2011, FAO 560/2011 and FAO 561/2011
% 10th February, 2014
NAWLESH PRASAD & ANR ..... Appellants
Through: None
versus
UNION OF INDIA ..... Respondent
Through: Mr.J.K.Singh, Adv. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE VALMIKI J.MEHTA To be referred to the Reporter or not? VALMIKI J. MEHTA, J (ORAL)
1. On the last date of hearing adjournment was sought on behalf of the appellants and which was allowed in the interest of justice subject to depositing of costs of Rs.5,00/- in each of the appeals. Today no one appears on behalf of the appellants and nor is there any proof that costs have been deposited. It may be noted that even earlier on 12.02.2013 adjournment was sought on behalf of the appellants.
FAO Nos.557/2011 & conn. matters page 1 of 5
2. Counsel for the respondent very strongly opposes the adjournment and states that strategies are being used to unnecessarily delay the disposal of the appeals which be decided on merits. I have therefore heard the counsel for the respondent and after perusing the record I am proceeding to decide these appeals.
3. There are two appellants, and who were the applicants before the Railway Claims Tribunal. Appellant No.1/applicant No.1 is the husband of the deceased Smt.Meera Devi and the father of the two deceased minor children Baby Palak and Master Abhijit. Appellant No.2/applicant No.2 is the son of applicant No.1/appellant No.1 as also of the deceased Smt.Meera Devi and the brother of deceased Baby Palak and Master Abhijit.
4. The case pleaded by the appellants/applicants was that Smt.Meera Devi along with Baby Palak and Master Abhijit died in an untoward incident on account of falling from the train Himalayan Queen Express on 28.3.2010. Three claim petitions were therefore filed seeking statutory compensation under the Railways Act, 1989. Compensation is statutorily fixed at Rs.4 lakhs for death of each bona fide passenger. In the claim petition, it was stated that the deceased Smt. Meera Devi along with three children Baby Palak, Master Abhijit and Master Abhishek were travelling by Himalayan Queen Express from Chandigarh on 28.3.2010 when deceased Smt. Meera FAO Nos.557/2011 & conn. matters page 2 of 5 Devi near Dhol Mazra railway station went to the toilet for cleaning Master Abhijit but Baby Palak also went behind her whereas Master Abhishek remained on the seat, when due to sudden jerk of the train the three persons Smt.Meera Devi, Baby Palak and Master Abhijit fell down from the train resulting in their death.
5. The Railway Claims Tribunal has dismissed the claim petitions by making the following salient observations:
(i) If really Master Abhijit had fallen down first then there was no reason why Smt.Meera Devi would have not tried to pull the chain and stop the train.
(ii) The bodies of the three deceased persons Smt.Meera Devi, Baby Palak and Master Abhijit were not found lying together but they were found lying one after the other within a distance of 100-120 mtrs. showing that the children have been thrown out one by one and Smt.Meera Devi thereafter jumped from the train.
(iii) The death of the three persons is not on account of untoward incident but is on account of committing suicide and which becomes clear from the fact that the deceased Smt. Meera Devi left her home in Baddi (H.P.) even without informing her husband that she was leaving for her native place in Bihar and her husband came to know of her departure with the children only FAO Nos.557/2011 & conn. matters page 3 of 5 when he came back from the office for lunch in the afternoon. The Tribunal has rightly held that it is unbelievable for a mother, that too of three small children, to leave her home from Baddi, Himachal Pradesh to Chapra in Bihar without informing her husband. Also, if the deceased was travelling to Delhi with her three minor children, there was no reason that Smt.Meera Devi/deceased would not inform her brother who was living at Delhi.
(iv) No travel tickets were found in possession of the deceased Smt.Meera Devi either for her travel or for the travel of the children and only a sum of Rs.100/- was recovered during the search.
(v) There was no reason why the deceased would have commenced journey, instead of from Kalka which is a railway head for Baddi in Himachal Pradesh, but from Chandigarh which is much further away.
6. In my opinion, sympathy on account of deaths of a mother and her children in such cases should not be allowed to cloud the judgment of this Court where the statute fixes a statutory compensation of Rs.4 lakhs for death of each person travelling in a train. Statutory compensation is given for deaths of bonafide passengers on account of an untoward incident, and statutory compensation is specifically excluded by virtue of Section 123(c) read with Section 124 (A) of the Railways Act, 1989 once it is found that the deaths have taken place on account of self inflicted injuries/suicides.
FAO Nos.557/2011 & conn. matters page 4 of 5
7. A civil case is decided on principle of preponderance of probabilities, and in the present case it is clear that the deaths of all the three persons namely Smt.Meera Devi, Baby Palak and Master Abhijit have occurred not on account of an untoward incident but was the case of a suicide.
8. In view of the above there is no merit in these appeals and the same are therefore dismissed, leaving parties to bear their own costs.
VALMIKI J. MEHTA, J
FEBRUARY 10, 2014
mm
FAO Nos.557/2011 & conn. matters page 5 of 5