KEERATY Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants No.1 to 5, namely, Keeraty Datta, Puru Datta, Shilpi Datta, Vibhuti Datta and Lalima Datta of whom the appellant No.1, Keeraty Datta is the widow of the deceased Pawan Kumar Datta and the appellant No.2 Puru Datta, is the son of the deceased and the appellants No. 3 to 5, i.e., Shilpi Datta, Vibhuti Datta and Lalima Datta are the daughters of the deceased Pawan Kumar Datta, vide the present appeal assail the impugned judgment dated 14.11.2013 of the Railways Claims Tribunal, Principal Bench, Delhi in Claim Application No. OA(IIU)21/2012 whereby the claim made by the appellants No. 1 and 2 herein, i.e.the widow of the deceased and the son of the deceased, seeking compensation of Rs.10 lacs under Section 125 of the Railways Act, 1989 for the death of the deceased Pawan Kumar Datta, the husband of Keeraty Datta and the father of Puru Datta, in an accident on 28.11.2011 whilst travelling through an EMU Train from Faridabad to Okhla Railway Station, by accidentally falling down from the running train near Faridabad was declined- it having been held vide the impugned judgment that the deceased Pawan Kumar Datta did not fall from the train but was run over by a freight train whilst trespassing the track and that in as much as a 'run over' does not fall within the ambit of untoward incident, in terms of Section 123(c)(2) of the Railways Act, 1989 and is rather a case of a negligent and wilful act in terms of Section 124A(b) of the Railways Act, 1989, with the impugned judgment having also disbelieved the tickets EX.A-7 recovered as per the jamatalashi of the deceased on the ground that the jamatalashi was not an authentic document and had been fudged/fabricated for the purpose of the claim in as much as the separate loose report EX.A-3, the jamatalashi stating that return tickets along with money (Rs.2520/-), a pair of spectacles and a gold ring were recovered from the deceased was not part of the Inquest papers submitted to the doctor at the time of the autopsy as it did not bear the signatures of the concerned doctor of the B.K. Hospital, Faridabad and it was held vide the impugned judgment that the photocopy of the tickets that had been filed as evidence had been procured clandestinely and were not acceptable and that the deceased was run over by another train and was not a passenger of any train much less a bona fide passenger and had no reason to buy a ticket.

(2.) The appellants submit therefore through the appeal that the deceased Pawan Kumar Datta s/o Late Sh.Mangal San Dutta, aged 57 years whose occupation was service was going the Okhla, New Delhi from Faridabad on an EMU Passenger Railway Train against a valid Railway Ticket bearing No. Q-33461168 and a return Railway Ticket bearing No. Q-33461169 in the morning of 28.11.2011 and when the said train reached at KM No. 1509/21-19, 3rd Line Yard, Faridabad, Railway Station, Haryana, there was a heavy rush in the compartment and the deceased who was standing near the gate due to a strong sudden jerk of the train, fell down from the moving train and was crushed by a Goods Train and suffered fatal injuries on his person in the said untoward railway accident. The appellants submit that the matter was reported to the GRP Faridabad, Haryana Vide DD No. 18 dated 28.11.2011 and the post mortem of the body of the deceased was conducted at the B.K.Hospital, Faridabad, Haryana vide the Post Mortem No. 42/ADS/BKH/2011 dated 28.11.2011. The appellants submit that the deceased had valid tickets for the to and fro journey at the time of the incident from Faridabad to Okhla and from Okhla to Faridabad which railway tickets were recovered from his personal search/jamatalashi by the police and that the deceased was aged 57 years and had a monthly salary of Rs.12,000/-. The appellants submit that the contention raised by the Union of India that the deceased did not die in an untoward incident and did not die due to falling from a running train and died due to his own act whilst trespassing the Railway track and thus was knocked down by a speedy train was erroneous in as much as the deceased was a bona fide passenger of the train with tickets having been recovered for the to and fro journey from his jamatalashi and merely because there is no signature of the attending doctor of the B.K.Hospital Faridabad, on the documents produced by GRP Faridabad, the same cannot be considered as forged and fabricated or procured only for filing the claim petition.

(3.) On behalf of the appellants it has further been submitted that though the tickets as per EX.A-7, the photocopy thereof reveal that they were purchased at 7:50 a.m. on 28.11.2011, the same cannot be disbelieved as has been so done by the Railway Claims Tribunal for the deceased was residing at New Colony, Railway Road, Faridabad at a walking distance of hardly two minutes from the Railway Ticket Counter, Faridabad, and at 9:45 hrs there was great rush at the window, he had purchased the tickets including the return ticket to and from Okhla Railway Station and that the Railway Claims Tribunal ought not to have drawn an adverse inference on the purchasing of the tickets in advance.