RAHEMA BIBI AND ORS. Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These three appeals are preferred by three claimants in applications No. 68/2002, 460/2001 and 461/2001 of the Railway Claims Tribunal, Guwahati Bench thereby challenging the judgment and award dated 07.12.2006 of the said Tribunal. By this judgment and award, the learned Tribunal has dismissed the claims of the three claimants by a common judgment.

(2.) The necessary facts involved in these three appeals are simple. The three claimants, namely, Atifa Bibi, Rahema Bibi and Runuma Bibi, as claimants, stated that their respective husbands being bona fide passengers of down Kamrup Express fell from the train on 11.06.2001 at Nalbari railway station and were run over by a Security Special train being P/No. 16210 resulting in their death. Mustafa Ali, the deceased husband of Atifa Bibi, Rasid Ali, the deceased husband of Rahema Bibi and Bapzan Ali, the deceased husband of Runuma Bibi had proceeded to Nalbari railway station from their houses with a mission to travel Kokrajhar in search of job. They purchased reservation ticket but they are stated to have fallen from the train at Nalbari station resulting in registration of U.D. Case No. 22/2001 of Rangia G.R.P.S. The dead bodies were handed over to the family members after conducting post mortem examination and the railway reservation ticket being No. 10783065 dated 11.06.2001 was spotted near the place of incident which, according to the claimants of the cases, belonged to the deceased victims. The claimants, therefore, prayed that appropriate compensation be paid to them.

(3.) On being notified, the respondent railway authorities appeared and submitted written statement denying the liability. According to the N.F. Railway, no untoward incident as defined under Section 124-A of the Railways Act, 1989 had occurred on 11.06.2001 between Nalbari and Tihu. The claim made in the petition that the victims were bona fide passengers of Dn. Kamrup Express was specifically denied by the railways authorities. The case of the N.F. Railway was that of total denial and repudiation of the claim of the claimants for compensation. The learned Tribunal upon receipt of these rival contentions framed as many as 4 issues as follows:-