HAR PARSHAD NANDA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The present appeal under Section 23 of the Railways Claim Tribunal Act, 1987 (for short, 'the 1987 Act') is directed against the award dated 14.02.2013 of the Railways Claims Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench (for short, 'the Tribunal') whereby the claim petition of the appellant has been rejected on account of injuries received. The appellant's grouse was that he had fallen on 15.03.2010 at Ballabhgarh Railway Station out of the train, namely, Paschim Express, which he had boarded from Bharatpur to Faridabad and sustained multiple injuries and his left leg had been amputated.

(2.) The Tribunal has rejected the claim on the ground that the person who had admitted the appellant to the hospital has not been brought on record and nor examined and there is no record of the alleged incident with Station Master Ballabhgarh. No driver or guard of train had been informed about the incident and the appellant himself is a resident of Ballabhgarh and therefore he might have entangled with the train while crossing the railway line. It was held that he has failed to prove that he was traveling from the train and it was also held that it was not untoward incident as defined under Section 123(c)(2) of Act. Resultantly issues No. 1 and 2 whether the applicant/injured was a bonafide passenger at the time of accident and neither the incident was covered under the provisions of the act were decided against the appellant.

(3.) The findings of the Tribunal suffer from perversity, which cannot be sustained on the basis of record. The incident as noticed was of 15.03.2010. Specific case of the appellant in his claim petition was that he was traveling on ticket No. 67331418 dated 15.03.2010, which had been issued from Bharatpur to Faridabad Railway Station, for 2nd class super fast. He was employed with M/s Printer House a private factory and he was admitted in Sarvodhya Hospital, Faridabad on the same date and thereafter had undergone treatment at various places. Alongwith the claim petition he had also submitted the details as how he had left his children and his wife at Bharatpur, Rajasthan and was coming back in the said train and when he was washing his hands in wash-basin, due to the heavy jerk he had fallen down out of the running train and received multiple and grievous injuries. Some person had taken him into the hospital and thereafter his statement was recorded on 17.03.2010 by the GRP Police, Faridabad. In support of his claim he also submitted the affidavit on the same lines.