SMTI ROMA DEY W/O LATE DILIP KR. DEY ANANDANAGAR, UDALBAKHRA GUWAHATI Vs. THE UNION OF INDIA REPRESENTED BY THE GENERAL MANAGER, NF RAILWAY, MALIGAON GUWAHATI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is an appeal under Sec. 23 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 challenging the judgment and order dated 28.5.2008 passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal, Guwahati Bench in OA No. 500 of 2001 thereby rejecting the claim petition of the appellant herein.

(2.) In the claim petition filed before the Tribunal, claimant stated that while discharging his official duty, the husband of the claimant fell down from Dn 5604 Train on 21.12.2000 at about 1.50 hrs. at Dimapur Railway Station and he succumbed to grievous injury received from the said untoward incident. Post mortem was held and one U/D case was registered vide Dimapur GRP U/D Case No.37 of 2000 on the basis of the claim petition and notices were issued to the Union of India represented by the General Manager, NF Railway, Maligaon. The claimant also filed an additional affidavit before the tribunal stating that in discharge of his duty cast on him by the Command Certificate, the deceased who was a constable of Nagaland Armed Police came to Dimapur Railway Station on the fateful day. The Command Certificate has been placed on record as Exhibit-20 which shows that deceased Dilip Kumar Dey was directed to proceed to Dimapur Railway Station at 1 pm on 21.12.2000. It is stated in the affidavit sworn by the claimant on 14.6.2005 that her husband was a member of Nagaland Police Service and was regularised w.e.f. 14.12.1984 as Constable No.2218 . He rendered his service as a driver under the Commandant, 1st NAP Bn., Chumukedima, Nagaland. On the strength of the movement command certificate No. 1410 dated 21.12.2000 issued by the concerned authority, Dilip Kumar Dey discharged his official duty at Dimapur Police Station on 21.12.2000 and while performing checking duty in 5604 Dn passenger Train at Dimapur Railway Station, he accidentally fell down from the said train in question on 21.12.2000 at about 2 hrs and was run over by the train. Due to such incident, he was injured seriously and died then and there. As a result of such occurrence, GRP Railway station sent the body of the victim for post mortem examination and UD Case No.37 of 2000 was registered. Along with this affidavit, as many as 19 documents were placed on record and by subsequent additional affidavit one more document being Exhibit-20 was placed on record.

(3.) NF Railway submitted a written statement as against original claim petition denying the case of the claimant in entirety. But even after two subsequent affidavits were filed by the claimant, the railway authority did not file any rejoinder either in the form of affidavit or in the form of evidence and thus the aforesaid averments made in two affidavits by claimant went unrebutted. Be that as it may, the learned tribunal framed the following five issues which are quoted below :