The Delhi High Court has observed that merely on the ground that the belongings of the Deceased were found with the body of the deceased on the railway track is not a ground to decategorize the incident as an “untoward incident”.
It further opined that the Tribunal was wrong in rejecting the compensation and hence, the matter was remanded back to the Tribunal for awarding compensation.
Brief Facts:
A second-class ticket was bought by the Deceased person to travel from Bangalore to New Delhi. However, in between the Deceased fell from the moving train and died on the spot.
The Tribunal had rejected the claim as how the Deceased fell from the moving train could not be ascertained by the Investigation Officer. The Tribunal ruled that since the Deceased was found along with his belongings, he could not have fallen from the train. Accordingly, the incident was held to be not covered under “untoward incident” as per Section 123(c) of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987.
The Present appeal has been filed to challenge the order of the Railway Claims Tribunal vide which the claim of the Appellants was dismissed.
Contentions of the Appellants:
It was contended that the Tribunal did not consider the fact that a legitimate ticket was recovered from the deceased person whose body was found on the railway track.
Contentions of the Respondent:
The Respondent argued that the injuries of the deceased person were self-inflicted as the injuries occurred because the deceased was trying to de-board from a moving train.
Observations of the Court:
Relying on the Case of Union of India v. Rina Devi [(2019) 3 SCC 572], the High Court opined that the Tribunal was wrong in ruling that the incident was not an “untoward incident” merely because the belonging of the Deceased was found with his body.
The decision of the Court:
The Appeal, therefore, was allowed by the Delhi High Court and the matter was remanded back to the Tribunal for awarding of the compensation.
Case Title: Sabila Begum & Ors. V. Union of India
Coram: Hon’ble Mr. Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri
Case No.: FAO 390/2014
Advocates for Appellants: Adv. Mr. Yogesh Swaroop
Advocates for Respondent: Mr. Shrey Sharawat, Senior Panel Counsel
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