The Supreme Court of India has ruled that the failure to recover a train ticket from a deceased or injured passenger cannot be used to deny compensation to victims or their legal heirs, restoring a ₹8 lakh tribunal award to the parents of a man who died following an accidental fall from a train.
The judgment set aside a High Court ruling that had overturned the initial compensation order issued by the Railway Claims Tribunal. The Supreme Court directed the authorities to release the awarded compensation of ₹8 lakh, along with 9 per cent annual interest calculated from the date of the incident until the date of the order, to the parents of the victim within 30 days.
The case stems from an incident on September 27, 2017, when the victim, identified as Maheshbhai, suffered grievous injuries in an accidental fall from a train and was hospitalized for over a month before passing away. On June 17, 2022, the Railway Claims Tribunal determined that Maheshbhai was a bona fide passenger who fell victim to an “untoward incident” under Section 124-A of the Railways Act, 1989, awarding ₹8 lakh in compensation to his parents.
However, the High Court subsequently reversed the tribunal’s decision on the grounds that the claimants failed to produce the train ticket.
Reverting to the tribunal’s original finding, the Supreme Court bench noted that the victim’s father had deposed on oath that his son had purchased a ticket before boarding. The parents pleaded that the ticket, along with Maheshbhai’s wristwatch, handkerchief, comb, and cash amounting to ₹800–900, were lost during the incident and subsequent hospitalization.
The bench held that the testimony on oath by the victim’s father was sufficient to discharge the initial burden of proof placed on the claimants. Once that testimony was established, the legal burden shifted to the Indian Railways to prove that the passenger was traveling without a valid ticket, which the railway authorities failed to do.
The court further observed that under normal circumstances, when a victim undergoes prolonged medical treatment following a severe accident, it is unreasonable to expect relatives to preserve a train ticket.
Addressing an official investigation report submitted by railway authorities on May 17, 2018—nearly seven months after the accident—the Supreme Court elected to ignore the document, citing excessive administrative delay. The court ruled that the delay in conducting the inquiry rested solely on the railway authorities and could not be used to prejudice the compensation rights of the claimants.
Concluding that the tribunal had correctly evaluated the evidence on record, the Supreme Court held that the High Court was unjustified in setting aside the award merely due to the non-production of the physical ticket.
Sources
– Hindustan Times: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/nonrecovery-of-train-ticket-from-deceased-passenger-can-t-defeat-compensation-claim-sc-101790397839208.html
Source: Hindustan Times – India News
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Story synopsis gathered from: Hindustan Times – India News — source
