The Railways Act provisions should be interpreted liberally and purposively to provide compensation to claimants who are bona fide passengers and victims of untoward incidents.

JUDGMENT :

These are two appeals filed by the Union of India, through General Manager, Central Railway, Mumbai, impugning the decision dated 1st September, 2021 awarding compensation of Rs.8,00,000/- in Claim Petition No.OA IIu/168/2019 (First Appeal No.113/2022) to the respondent-Reena Kharwade along with interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the date of the incident i.e. 5th January, 2019 till realization for injury of having lost her both legs and also compensation of Rs.8,00,000/- in Claim Petition No.OA IIu/169/2019 (First Appeal No.114/2022) to the respondents along with interest at the rate of 9% per annum as dependants of the deceased mother of Reena Kharwade.

2. The factual background is that Reena Kharwade, the sole respondent in First Appeal No.113/2022, who was about to be married, being desirous of travelling from Nagpur to Pandhurna alongwith her mother for making marriage purchases, both holding valid railway tickets, boarded GT Express Train going towards Chennai instead of a train going towards Hazrat Nijamuddin, Delhi. Admittedly, the daughter and the mother boarded a wrong train going in the opposite direction. When it was realized that they had boarded a wrong train, and when the train slowed down near Ajni Railway Station, which is though not a scheduled stop for GT Express, both the mother and the daughter while attempting to deboard the moving train, slipped and fell down, as a result of which, the mother sustained injuries to which she succumbed and died and the respondent-daughter was grievously injured in both her legs resulting in double amputation. Thereafter, the two claim petitions referred to above were preferred before the Railway Claims Tribunal, Nagpur (the “Tribunal”) under Section 16 of the Railways Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 read with Section 125 of the Railways Act, 1989 (the “Railways Act”) for compensation together with interest. Claim Petition No.OA IIu/168/2019 was preferred by the daughter for claiming compensation for the injury of double amputation suffered by her and the other was a claim by the dependants including the daughter being Claim Petition No.OA IIu/169/2019.

3. The Tribunal allowed the claim petitions filed by the respondents. Aggrieved by the same, the Railways are in appeal by filing these two appeals being First Appeal Nos.113/2022 and 114/2022.

4. There is no dispute on the facts in the matter. Since the basic facts in both the appeals are same, for the sake of convenience, Record and Proceedings, pagination with respect to First Appeal No.113/2022 is being referred to.

5. Mr Lambat, learned counsel for the Railways would submit that the only issue that arises for consideration of this Court is, whether the act of the mother and the daughter of whom the daughter was highly educated to first board the GT Express Train going in the wrong direction and then to alight from the running train and that too at a station not having a scheduled halt would be a case firstly of not holding a valid ticket and secondly whether such an act would be a case of self-inflicted injury or a criminal act as per the exceptions contained in the proviso to Section 124-A of the Railways Act. He would submit that the scope of self-inflicted injury in the Railways Act cannot be placed in a narrow compass, but has to have a wide connotation. He would submit that the cross-examination of the respondent (A-79 of the Record and Proceedings in First Appeal No.113/2022) clearly indicates that the Respondent has studied up upto Master of Computer Application; that being so highly qualified, the Respondent was intelligent enough to understand that the train which they got into was not the train going towards Pandhurna, but since they were negligent, they not only boarded the wrong train but despite knowing that for stopping the train, there is an arrangement in the compartment to pull the chain, if required, and despite the speed of the train being 50 to 60 kms. per hour, they alighted the running train