Railway Administration is strictly liable for injuries to bona fide passengers during travel; compensation must be granted under the Railways Act when an untoward incident occurs.

JUDGMENT :

SanjeebK Panigrahi, J.

1. The instant appeal has been preferred by the Appellant questioning the legality of the judgment and award dated 07.02.2022 passed by the learned Railway Claims Tribunal, Bhubaneswar Bench, Bhubaneswar in O.A. (IIU) No.323 of 2017. By the instant impugned judgment, the learned Tribunal was pleased to reject the claim application instituted under Section 124A of the RAILWAYS ACT , 1989, thereby declining compensation in respect of the accidental death of the deceased alleged to have occurred in the course of a bona fide journey. The Appellant, being dissatisfied with such adjudication, has invoked the appellate jurisdiction of this Court, urging that the impugned judgment is perverse, contrary to the weight of evidence on record, and inconsistent with the liberal and welfare-oriented interpretation consistently adopted by the constitutional courts in the domain of railway accident compensation.

I. FACTUAL MATRIX OF THE CASE

2. The brief facts of the caseare asfollows:

The case of the claimant, as presented before the learned Tribunal, is that on 26.01.2017, he was undertaking a lawful journey from Rourkela to Jharsuguda by a passenger train, being in possession of a valid general class railway ticket. During the course of the said journey, when the train was proceeding near Panposh Railway Station, it is alleged that owing to a sudden and violent jerk of the moving train, the claimant accidentally lost his balance, fell down from the compartment, and sustained grievous injuries on both his legs. Immediately after the occurrence, he was shifted to the Ispat General Hospital, Rourkela, for emergency medical treatment, and upon medical advice, was subsequently referred to the S.C.B. Medical College and Hospital, Cuttack for advanced management. Despite sustained medical intervention, the injuries proved to be of such a severe nature that the doctors were constrained to amputate his left leg above the knee and the foot of his right leg. It has been further contended by the claimant that he had duly purchased a general class journey ticket for the said travel on the date of the incident; however, the said ticket was lost along with his bag and other belongings at the time of the fall. The claimant, therefore, asserts that the incident squarely falls within the ambit of an ‘untoward incident’ as defined under Section 123(c)(2) of the RAILWAYS ACT , 1989, entitling him to compensation under Section 124A thereof.”

II. SUBMISSIONS ON BEHALF OF THE APPELLANT

3. Learned counsel for the Appellant earnestly made the following submissions in support of his contentions:

i. The Appellant’s specific case is that while travelling from Rourkela to Jharsuguda Railway Station with a valid journey ticket, being a bona fide passenger, he accidentally fell down from the running train and sustained grievous injuries. During the course of treatment, the attending doctors were constrained to amputate his left leg above the knee and the foot of his right leg. These material facts, duly supported by contemporaneous evidence, were unfortunately disregarded and brushed aside by the learned Tribunal without assigning any cogent reason.

ii. The materials on record, including the investigation report of the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), the statutory investigation report, the enquiry report of the ASI/RPF, Rourkela, the Station Master’s diary entries, and the registration details of the Ispat General Hospital, Rourkela, coupled with the report submitted by Shri Krishna Kumar Mehta, ASI/RPF, Rourkela-cum-Enquiry Officer, clearly establis