SHAHAJAD Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This first appeal is filed under Section 23 of the Railway Claim Tribunal Act, 1987 impugning the judgment of the Railway Claims Tribunal dated 4.9.2013 by which the claim petition filed by the appellants/applicants was dismissed.

(2.) Railway Claims Tribunal dismissed the claim on the ground that the deceased late Smt. Firdous was not a bonafide passenger and in fact she died on account of her own criminal negligence and self-inflicted injuries. The relevant findings of the Railway Claims Tribunal contained in paras 5 to 11 of the impugned judgment and the same read as under:-

(3.) A reading of these paragraphs shows that the Railway Claims Tribunal was justified in arriving at a finding that deceased was not a bonafide passenger because whereas the goods/luggage/items were recovered from the spot there was no recovery of railway ticket either from the goods or the person of the deceased. I do not agree that there is no onus of proof at all on the applicants to show that the deceased was a bonafide passenger and that every person who dies in a train accident must be shown as a bonafide passenger. No doubt, as per the facts of a particular case onus may be lightly discharged however initial onus in every civil case including a claim petition filed before the Railway Claims Tribunal has to be on the applicants. There is no provision in the Railways Act or the Railway Claims Tribunal Act or ratio of any judgment of the Supreme Court that initial onus in a claim petition is not on the applicants but on the Railways. The circumstances of this case show that if deceased was a bonafide passenger there was no reason that the ticket could not be recovered from the person of the deceased or from her goods which were found in the train.