UNION OF INDIA Vs. NATHMAL HANSARIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) MINISTRY of Railways of the Government of India along with the General Manager, Northern Railway, New Delhi and the General Manager, Northern-Frontier Railway, Assam are the Appellants and Shri Nathamal Hansaria and Smt. Gita Devi Hansaria are the Respondents in this appeal against the Order of the Assam State Commission awarding Rs. 2,25,000/- to the Respondents for the accidental death Kabita Hansaria, the daughter of Shri Nathmal and Smt. Gita Devi Hansaria while travelling in the Tinsukhia Mai on the 27th December, 1990 from Delhi to Guwahati.

(2.) THE admitted facts of the case are that Kabita Hansaria accompanied by her mother and son travelled in the Tinsukhia Mail which started from Delhi for destination, Guwahati on 27.12.1990. The train had the facility of movement between compartments connected by vestibules so that the passengers could move from one compartment to another. The deceased Kabita while passing through the interconnecting passage fell down and died as a result of crush injuries on the head caused by run over by the train.

(3.) THE principal contention of the Railway Ministry, apart from denying all the facts contained in the petition of the Complainant-Respondent as regards the lack of safety devices in the passage interconnecting compartment, is that the consumer disputes redressal agencies cannot consider any complaint of this nature in view of Section 15 of the Railways Claims Tribunal Act read with Section 13 as reproduced earlier. It would be seen that Section 13(a)(2)(i) authorises the Railway Claims Tribunal to determine and award compensation payable under Section 82 of the Railways Act and the Rules made thereunder. The Rules made thereunder known as Railway Accident (Compensation) Rules, 1990 prescribe the procedure for determining the compensation and also the limit of compensation for death and various types of injuries including loss of limbs.