UNION OF INDIA Vs. MULJIBHAI DAHYABHAI SOLANKI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present First Appeal has been filed by the appellant against the judgment and award dated 07.05.1999 passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal at Ahmedabad in Claim Application No.OA 9800037 under Section 23 of the Railways Act, 1989 .

(2.) The factual background which has given rise to this First Appeal is that one Smt.Revaben Parmar, on 11.08.1997, was travelling from Baroda to Ahmedabad through MEMU train with a valid ticket No.4444221. At the Baroda railway station itself, before the train begins Smt.Revaben went to toilet in the train standing adjacent to MEMU train at Platform No.2 i.e. Navjivan Express. It is the case of the claimant that in the MEMU train there was no facility of toilet as a result of this, she went to Navjivan Express for that purpose only. While she was getting down from Navjivan Express, she got a push and fell down and thereafter she shifted to SSG Hospital at Baroda by Railway Police where she was declared dead. Due to her death, husband and family members have submitted a claim petition under the provisions of Railways Act, 1989. The case of the appellant that she sustained accidental injury which falls within purview of 'untoward incident' under Section 123 (c)(2) of the Railways Act and thereby claim was generated by submitting a claim petition.

(3.) Based upon aforesaid pleadings, learned Railway Claims Tribunal at Ahmedabad has framed the issues for consideration and later on after examining the evidence as a whole and after considering the proposition of law laid down by several decisions, the claim petition was allowed by directing the present appellant - opponent herein to pay an amount of Rs.2 lakhs to the applicant within 60 days failing which the amount will be carried 12% interest till realisation and the claim petition came to be disposed of by judgment and award dated 07.05.1999. Following is the operation portion of the order passed by the learned Tribunal which reads thus: