1. - This miscellaneous appeal under Section 23 of the Railway Claim Tribunal Act, 1987 (hereinafter 1987 Act') has been filed by the appellants- claimants (hereinafter 'the claimants') challenging the judgment dated 2-9-2004 passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal (herein after 'the Tribunal'). Thereby the claim petition has been dismissed by the Tribunal on the ground of it being fraudulent in nature.

2. The facts of the case are that the claimants filed a petition on 8-2-2002 under Section 16 of the 1987 Act read with Section 125 of the Railway Act, 1989 for a compensation of Rs. 8 lacs for the death Bhera Prajapati, on 21-5-2001 alleging that he accidentally fell from train No.171, Ahmedabad Falna while travelling on a valid ticket from Mori Bera to Jawai Band. The claim petition filed by the claimants was dismissed by the Tribunal on the ground that the claimants failed to prove that deceased purchased any valid ticket for journey on the train from Mori Bera to Jawai Band as alleged. The other ground for dismissal of the claim petition was that affidavits of witnesses, belonging to Bali District Pali, attested at Bhanupura in Madhya Pradesh, were ex-facie unreliable as the distance between Bali and Bhanpura was of more than 300 k.m., and no reasonable explanation was put forth as to why is so happened. Another ground for the dismissal of the claim petition is that neither the incident of the accidental falling of the deceased Bhera Prajapati on 21-5-2001 from the train in issue was informed to the railway authorities on the same day or even the next day, nor any passenger travelling in the compartment nor even the purported eye witness did pull the chain. Noting the alleged "happenstance" as claimed the learned Tribunal found little comfort in relying on the untrustworthy evidence of the claimants. The claim petition filed by the claimants was thus dismissed with a direction to initiate proceedings against claimant and her witness Mohan Ram under Section 193 IPC for rampant perjury on oath before the Tribunal.

3. Hence this appeal.

4. Shri S.C. Gupta, the learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that the deceased Bhera Ram Prajapati had on 21-5-2001 boarded train No.171 (Ahmedaba-Falna) at Mori Bera to travel upto Falna after purchasing a valid second class ticket, along with co-passenger Mohan Ram. He submitted that due to heavy rush of passengers, the deceased was compelled to stand near the gate of the compartment. Thereafter as a result of a jerk/jolt in the running train he fell off from the train near Km 525/2 between Mori Bera and Jawai Band and died. Counsel further submitted that one Rati Ram, railway gate-man, while he was patrolling the railway track found Bhera Prajapati unconscious near the Rail track. He thereupon informed the Station Master Mori Bera about the injured person. The deceased was removed to GRP Primary center for treatment, and thereafter referred to the MDH Hospital Jodhpur on 22-5-2001, where he died while undergoing treatment on 24-5-2001. The Railway Station Master Mori Bera also informed the incharge of the Government Railway Police Chowki Falna about the incident. The Panchnama was prepared under Mrag No.9/2001 under Section 174 Cr.P.C. and after due post mortem, the dead body of the deceased was handed over to the claimants on 24-5-2001.

5. Counsel submitted that the learned Tribunal has committed a gross illegality in holding that the deceased was not a bonafide passenger on train No.171 as allegedly no ticket was purchased by the deceased. It was submitted that the Tribunal wrongly failed to consider the evidence of the co-passenger Mohan Ram. The Tribunal also failed to consider, counsel submitted, the fact that the deceased was removed from the railway track by Railway gate-man himself, under information to Railway Station Master Mori Bhera and then onwards to MDH Hospital Jodhpur, where he died after two days of the accident. The news item of the accident was published in