A A HAJA MUNIUDDIN Vs. INDIAN RAILWAYS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) special leave granted.

(2.) The short question which arises for determination in this appeal is whether an indigent person who not possessed of sufficient means to enable him to pay the fee prescribed by sub-section (2) of Section 16 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 (hereinafter called 'the Act') can be permitted to prefer his claim as an indigent person on the principle embodied in Order. XXXIII of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (herein after called 'the Code'). The brief facts giving rise to this appeal are as under.

(3.) The appellant despatched marble slab from Makrana Railway Station for carriage by rail under railway risk to Ramanathapuram. The wagon carrying the marble slab met with an accident. The marble slab reached the station of destination in broke pieces. Treating the damage as a total loss, the appellant preferred a claim for Rs. 1,05,000/- before the Railway Claims Tribunal established under Section 3 of the Act. The appellant was required to pay a fee of Rs 2,055/- on the said claim application under sub-section (2) of Section 16 of the Act read with Rule 6 of the Railway Claims Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1989 (hereinafter called 'the Rules'). However, since the appellant did not have the means to pay the requisite fee, he lodged the claim application on a fee of Rs 150/- only and prayed that he may be permitted to prosecute the claim as an indigent person. The Tribunal, however came to the conclusion that since Order XXXIII of the Code had no application to claim preferred under the provisions of the Act, the appellant cannot be permitted to prosecute the application as such. the Tribunal, therefore, spurned the appellant request. It is against the said order of the Tribunal that the present appeal by special leave has been brought to this Court.