THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE P. MADHAVI DEVI
CIVIL MISCELLANEOUS APPEAL NO.496 OF 2011
JUDGMENT
This Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is filed by South Central Railway, Secunderabad against the Award of the Railway Claims Tribunal in O.A.A.No.462 of 2006 dt.18.01.2011 granting compensation of Rs.4,00,000/- together with interest @ 6% per annum to the applicants.
2. The brief facts leading to filing of this case are that the deceased Mr. K. Dharma Rao, a Sub-Inspector of Police at Ongole, was travelling in the train (bearing No.2753) from Chirala to Guntur by boarding the train at Guntur, and when the train started with a jerk, he slipped and fell down from the train at the railway station itself and died later in the hospital due to grievous injuries. The wife and daughters of the deceased filed a claim before the Railway Claims Tribunal which awarded a compensation of Rs.4,00,000/- along with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the Application till the date of payment.
3. Against this award, the present CMA is filed. 2
4. Learned counsel for the appellant, Smt. T. Balajayasree, submitted that the deceased was a Sub-Inspector of Police but he was not found with any ticket while travelling on the train and though the accident occurred on the railway tracks, there is no proof that it was due to any fault of the railways. She submitted that before a passenger can be awarded any compensation, the passenger must be a bonafide passenger and since the deceased was not found with any ticket, he cannot be considered as a bonafide passenger and therefore he cannot be awarded any compensation for his death on the railway tracks. According to her, the enquiry by the railways revealed that the deceased was standing near the door and tried to get down from the other side due to which, he fell down and sustained injuries. Therefore, according to her, the injuries were self-inflicted injuries and hence, the applicants were not eligible for the compensation awarded by the Tribunal.
5. The learned counsel for the appellant submitted that since the applicants could not furnish any evidence of the deceased purchasing a ticket or that he was travelling with a ticket, the deceased cannot be considered as a bonafide passenger. Further, according to her, the statement of Lenin Babu, Head Constable to the effect that the deceased was travelling with a ticket also was not supported by any evidence. Therefore, according to her, the compensation should not have been awarded.
3
6. There was no representation from the respondents even though notices were served on them.
7. This Court finds that the deceased was a police officer and was travelling along with another police personnel to Guntur and it is also not disputed that the accident had occurred while boarding the train in general compartment. Therefore, the confidential enquiry of the DRM that the deceased along with Lenin Babu and other Constables was travelling by Train No.2753 to go to Ongole from Chirala and fell while he was trying to detrain from the moving train on reverse direction, is not reliable. The communications with the Superintendent of Police also confirmed that the deceased was on inspection on that day and that the said SI attended to him and saw him off when he boarded the train and that it was not uncommon for police officials to be in mufti wearing normal clothes in insurgency areas while on duty. This communication corroborates the statement of Lenin Babu that the deceased was on duty and was travelling by train when the accident occurred. That the deceased died because of the injuries sustained by him in the accident is also not disputed. In view of the same, this Court finds no reason to interfere with the award of the Railway Claims Tribunal.
8. The Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is accordingly dismissed. No order as to costs.
4
9. Pending miscellaneous petitions, if any, in this CMA shall also stand dismissed.
___________________________ JUSTICE P. MADHAVI DEVI Date: 15.11.2021 Svv