UNION OF INDIA Vs. KULBIR KAUR AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal has been filed by Union of India to challenge award of compensation passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench, Chandigarh, vide which compensation of Rs. 4 lacs along with interest has been awarded to the claimants.

(2.) Briefly the facts of the case are that on 4.1.2010, deceasedSatinder Singh along with his wife and two minor children went to Sh. Hazoor Sahib Gurudwara at Nanded (Maharashtra) for paying obeisance by train from Amritsar. After paying obeisance there, they started their return journey on 9.1.2010 from Nanded to Armtisar. At about 10.00 am, they boarded the train from Nanded Railway Station and reached at Manmad railway Station at 6.00 pm on the same day wherefrom they boarded another train (Nizamuddin) at about 6.40 pm for further journey.

(3.) They reached at Delhi Railway Station at 7.00 pm on 10.1.2010. The deceased purchased two tickets from Delhi Railway Station for further journey to Amritsar and thereafter boarded Hirakund train at about 9.15 pm from Delhi for Amritsar. On the way Satinder Singh got down from train for bringing drinking water at Sirhind Railway Station but boarded some other coach. Since the train was over crowded, he fell down from the train in between Sirhind and Mandi Gobindgarh Railway Station. During that incident, the railway tickets were also lost. The family members of the deceased were not even aware about his falling down from the train and reached to their destination. Thereafter they came to know that Satinder Singh had died in an accident. Postmortem of the deceased was conducted in Civil Hospital, Mandi Gobindgarh on 14.1.2010.