( 1 ) THIS appeal by Union of India represented by its General Manager, South central Railway, Secunderabad is against the order of the Railway Claims Tribunal, secunderabad in O. A. A. No. 120 of 1997 dated 03-6-1998.

( 2 ) THE respondents 1 and 2 herein alongwith two others filed O. A. A. No. 120 of 1997 before the learned Tribunal alleging that the husband of the first respondent and father of the second respondent while travelling in train No. 404, Guntur - Repalle passenger, from Tenali to Repalle on 01-4-1996, fell down from the running train between penumarru Railway station and Bhattiprolu railway station and sustained fatal injuries, as a result of which, he suffered instantaneous death. The respondents claimed a sum of Rs. 2,00,000/- as compensation for the death of Siva Venkata subrahmanyam on account of "untoward incident". The appellant herein opposed the application on two grounds, namely, that the accident did not occur in any railway station and that the deceased was an unauthorized passenger on the train. The learned Tribunal overruled the two objections and awarded the compensation as claimed duly apportioning the sum to all the claimants.

( 3 ) IN this appeal, the learned Counsel forthe appellant, Sri B. H. R. Chowdary, submits that when a person, who dies in an accident involving railways, is an unauthorized passenger without ticket, he cannot be granted any compensation. He would also contend that the deceased fell down from the running train between the two railway stations, not within the premises of a railway station, and therefore Sections 123 and 124 of the Railways Act, 1989 (the Act, for brevity) are not attracted. Per contra, the learned Counsel for respondents placing reliance on the judgment of a Division Bench of this Court, to which I was a member, in union of India v. Uggina Srinivasa Rao, submits that the factum of subrahmanyeswara Rao travelling in the train is proved and, therefore, the claimants are entitled to claim compensation towards the death of the husband of the first respondent on account of untoward accident.

( 4 ) "untoward incident" is defined in Section 123 (c) of the Act. As per the definition, an accidental falling of any person from the train carrying passengers is an "untoward incident". The compensation on account of untoward incident is dealt with by section 124-A of the Act, which reads as under: 124-A. Compensation on account of untoward incident: When in the course of working a railway an untoward incident occurs, then whether or not there has been any wrongful act, neglect or default on the part of the railway administration such as would entitle a passenger who has been injured or the dependant of a passenger who has been killed to maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof, the railway administration shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, be liable to pay compensation to such extent as may be prescribed and to that extent only for loss occasioned by the death of, or injury to, a passenger as a result of such untoward incident. Provided that no compensation shall be payable under this section by the railway administration if the passenger dies or suffers injury due to (a) suicide or attempted suicide by him; (b) self-inflicted injury; (c) his own criminal act; (d) any act committed by him in a state of intoxication or insanity; (e) any natural cause or disease or medical or surgical treatment unless such treatment becomes necessary due to injury caused by the said untoward incident. Explanation: For the purposes of this section, "passenger" includes,- (i) a railway servant on duty; and (ii) a person who has purchased a valid ticket for travelling, by a train carrying passengers, on any date or a valid platform ticket and becomes victim of an untoward incident. "

( 5 ) A plain reading of the above provisionand a true consideration of the same would show that when any person is a victim of "untoward incident", the rail