The burden of proof on the claimant to establish the deceased as a bona fide passenger with a valid journey ticket and the liability of the railway administration to pay compensation in the absence of wrongful act or neglect.

JUDGMENT :

In this appeal, filed under Section 23 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 (for short, “the Act of 1987"), the challenge is to the judgment and order dated 6th December, 2019, passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal, Nagpur Bench, Nagpur, whereby the claim filed by the appellants came to be dismissed.

2. BACKGROUND FACTS:

The appellants are the parents of the deceased Swapnil Patil. They claim that on 4th August, 2016, the deceased, after attending his medical fitness examination at Nanded, had started his journey with his cousin to Jalgaon. At Manmad Railway Station, the deceased and his cousin Anil Patil boarded the Down Punjab Mail Train No.12137. According to the appellants, the deceased fell down from a running train between Km.342/6 and 342/8 in Tandalwadi Shivar of Railway Station Kajgaon. He sustained serious injuries and died. According to the appellants, the composite railway ticket purchased for the journey by the deceased and Anil Patil was with the deceased. The railway ticket was lost in the incident. The deceased was a bona fide passenger. The death was in an untoward incident, as understood by Section 123(c)(2) of the Railways Act, 1989 (for short, “the Act of 1989”). On these averments, the appellants claimed the compensation.

3. The respondent-Railway filed the written statement and contested the claim. It is the case of the Railway that the death was not in an untoward incident. The deceased might have fallen from the train due to his negligence. It is further contended that the journey ticket was not recovered either from the spot or from the pocket of the deceased. The deceased was not a bona fide passenger and, therefore, the claim was not maintainable.

4. The parties adduced the evidence before the Tribunal. The learned Member of the Tribunal, on consideration of the evidence, found that the claim was without substance and, as such, dismissed the claim. Being aggrieved by this judgment and order of the Tribunal, the appellants have come before this Court in appeal.

5. I have heard Ms. Sumesha Chaudhary, learned advocate for the appellants and Ms. A.S. Athalye, learned advocate for the respondent-Railway. Perused the record and proceedings.

6. The following points fall for my determination :

(a) Whether the deceased died in an untoward incident as understood by Section 123(c)(2) of the Act of 1989 ?

(b) Whether the deceased was a bona fide passenger travelling in the train with a valid journey ticket ?

7. The learned advocate for the appellants submitted that there is ample evidence in the form of the DRM report and the RPF investigation report that the deceased was not run over by any train while crossing the railway line. The learned advocate submitted that the deceased, while travelling in a train, fell from the moving train and sustained serious injuries, and as such, the death was in an untoward incident. The learned advocate further submitted that there is no evidence adduced by the respondent-Railway to establish that the Loco Pilot of any train reported the run over of any person by any train at the spot of the incident. The learned advocate submitted that the injuries found on the dead body of the deceased completely rule out the possibility of the deceased being run over by any train. The learned advocate submitted that the inquiry conducted by the DRM as well as by the RPF revealed that the deceased was travelling from Nanded to Jalgaon with his cousin Anil Patil. The learned advocate submitted that there is no evidence adduced by the respondent-Railway to disprove the fact that the deceased was travelling with a valid journey ticket on the given date, as has been proved on the basis of the DRM report and other evidence. The learned advocate submitted that the mother of the deceased came to know from Anil Patil that they had purchased the composite journey ticket at Nanded to come to Jalgaon, and the said ticket was kept by the deceased with him. The learned advocate submitted that Anil Pat