The Supreme Court has directed the Indian Railways to pay Rs 8 lakh to a woman whose husband died on September 27, 2014 after being run over and decapitated by a train at Mahadanapuram Railway Station in Tamil Nadu.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and JK Maheshwari allowed an appeal filed by Kamukayi and others, while setting aside the Madras High Court and Railway Claims Tribunal’s orders, which had rejected their plea for compensation.
The Railway authorities contested the claim on the ground the deceased was not a bona fide passenger as a train ticket was not found with him.
The court, however, relied upon the judgment in the case of ‘Kamrunnissa vs Union of India’ (2019), which stated that mere absence of a ticket with an injured person or deceased will not negate that he was a bona fide passenger. Initial burden will be on the claimant, which can be can be discharged by filing an affidavit of the relevant facts and burden will then shift on the Railways and the issue can be decided on the facts shown or the attending circumstances.
Analysing the facts of the present case, the bench noted, it has come on record that Manikandan, son of the deceased had procured a valid train ticket for travel from Lalapettai to Karur and handed it over to the deceased. The averments made in the claim petition have been testified and even in the cross-examination, he has reiterated that the ticket for deceased from Lalapettai to Karur was purchased for a sum of Rs 10 and sent him off at Station to go to Karur.
The deceased fell down at Mahadanapuram Railway Station. The said averment of the claim petition and the statement of D Ravisankar, Station Master, finds support from inquest report prepared on the date of incidence and the final report prepared by the Investigation Officer, Railway Police Station Trichy. The said reports have been referred to in the investigation report as well, it noted.
“Considering the material brought on record, in our view, the initial burden that the deceased passenger was having a valid ticket has been discharged shifting onus on the railway administration to disprove the said fact. Nothing has been placed before Claims Tribunal or brought on record during the course of hearing that the Railway Administration has discharged the burden of not having the valid railway ticket with the deceased passenger, except to say that during recovery ticket was not found. In absence of any cogent evidence, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, the Railway administration shall be liable to pay compensation as prescribed,” the bench said.
The bench said, it is proved beyond reasonable doubt that deceased Muchamy alias Muthusamy died in an untoward incident while travelling as a bona fide passenger.
The court set aside the findings recorded by the Claims Tribunal and affirmed by the High Court as “perverse”.
“In our view, as per the provisions contained in Section 124A of Railways Act and Railway Accidents and Untoward Incidents (Compensation) Rules, 1990, the appellants are entitled to claim compensation,” the bench declared.
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