Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 – s. 16 – Railways Act, 1989 – s. 124A – Railway accident – Claim of compensation – Victim, if a bona fide passenger – Burden of proof – Discharge of – Victim travelling on the train and his death caused by a fall during course of his travel – Compensation claim by the victim’s sister, dismissed by the courts below – Correctness: Held: In cases where the body of the deceased is found on railway premises, the initial burden would be on the claimant, which could be discharged by filing an affidavit of the relevant facts – Once the claimant did so, the burden would then shift to the Railways – Mere absence of a ticket would not negate the claim that the deceased was a bona fide passenger – On facts, the victim’s sister duly filed an affidavit stating the facts and adverting to the report arising from the investigation conducted by the respondent, which showed that the deceased was travelling on the train and that his death was caused by a fall during the course of his travel – Burden of proof then shifted to the Railways, which was not discharged – Thus, the presumption that the deceased was a bona fide passenger on the train was not rebutted – Report of the Investigating Officer indicated the details mentioned in the postmortem report wherein the conclusions as to the time of death are approximations – Estimation as to the time of death in the postmortem report differs from the time at which the IO stated that the deceased fell off the train by about half a day – Margin of error of about half a day in cases of compensation is not disproportionate, where the evidence is otherwise corroborated by the material on record, which on facts, indicate that the deceased was a bona fide passenger on the train and he sustained grave injuries leading to his death, due to his fall from the train – Thus, compensation due to the victim’s sister – In case the amount so calculated is less than the amount prescribed as on the date of the grant of compensation, the claimant would be entitled to the higher of the two amounts – In 2003, the compensation payable for the death of a passenger was Rs 4,00,000 as provided under Schedule I of the Railway Accidents (Compensation) Rules 1990 – Compensation payable for the death of a passenger as on date is Rs 8,00,000 which was enhanced by a notification bearing GSR 1165(E) dated
22 December 2016 – Victim’s sister entitled to compensation quantified at Rs 8,00,000 to be paid by the respondent to the victim’s sister. [Paras 13-17, 19-21]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Nidhi Jain. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
This page is for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. Consult a qualified advocate for advice specific to your situation.