ALLA RAKHA SHATKH Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both the claim appeals were preferred against judgments passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal, Kolkata wherein the Claims tribunal has allowed the claim applications of the claimants and awarded the compensation but without any interest. The sole ground before this appellate court is whether the interests shall be allowed with the compensation amount. Learned advocate for the appellants submitted before this court that the claim amount was allowed by the Railway Tribunal but the compensation does not coupled with any interest. He submitted before this court that the tribunal has committed error for not passing the order of compensation alongwith interest. He again pointed out that the amount of Rs.4,00,000.00 was awarded in this case but by virtue of Notification of the Central Government No-877 dtd. 22/12/2016, which is come into force on 1st Day of January, 2004 the compensation amount should be Rs.8,00,000.00. In support of his contentions, he cited different decisions passed by the Hon'ble Apex Court and the judgment of this court; the reported judgments are 2018 (3) T.A.C. 26 (S.C.) Union of India Versus Rina Devi, 2019 (1) T.A.C. 731 (S.C.) Union of India Versus Radha Yadav, (2011) 1 WBLR (Cal.) 489, (2009) 3 WBLR (Cal.) 413.

(2.) The learned advocate appearing on behalf of the Railway Authority has submitted that the impugned judgment passed by the learned tribunal has suffered no illegality. After passing the award the claimant has already received the awarded sum and the matter has already been settled there. Now by virtue of the amendment of the relevant provisions, the instant appeal has been preferred on the basis of principle of estoppel the appeal is not at all maintainable. The Notification of the Central Government was passed in the year 2016 and the instant award was passed prior to the Notification. Thus, the claimants are not entitled to get any extra amount by virtue of the said Notification. Now after hearing both the parties, it appears that the Railway Claims Tribunal is statutorily not bound to award interests to the claimants alongwith compensation. It appears that Sec. 18 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 does not confer any provision of payment of interest thus the claim tribunal usually allowed the compensation to the claimants and the interest was only given on default clause.

(3.) The Division Bench of this High Court (2019) 3 WBLR (Cal.) 413 (Moinura Bibi Vs. Union of India) makes the position clear that though Sec. 18 of the said Act does not empower the tribunal to award interest but following the principle of natural justice, the claimants are entitled to the interest alongwith the award of compensation. The Hon'ble Division Bench has also makes it clear following the judgment of Hon'ble Apex Court in Alok Shanker Pandey that interest is not a penalty or punishment at all, but it is a normal accretion of capital.