Lost ticket does not disprove bona fide passenger status if supported by witness statements and official reports confirming fall from running train.

JUDGMENT

The present Civil Miscellaneous Appeal have been filed against the judgement dated 27.07.2021 passed in O.A.(II-U)/70/2019 by the Railway Claims Tribunal, Chennai

2. The facts leading to the present lis is that the deceased, one named, Mr.K.Arulmani aged about 21 years and employed in a private company at Karur, died in an untoward incident, by falling from the running Train. On 28.05.2018, the deceased purchased Class-II, ticket for travel from Thanjavur to Karur and boarded the general compartment of Train No.16615, Mannargudi– Coimbatore Chemmozhi Express. While the train was proceeding between Veerakkiyam and Karur railway stations, at about 00:55 hours on 29.05.2018, the deceased fell from the running train, sustained grievous injuries, and died at the spot. The journey ticket is stated to have been lost along with his belongings during the accident. Subsequently, the body of the deceased was found on 31.05.2018 at about 12:30 hours, in a decomposed state, at KM No.70/100 between Veerakkiyam and Karur Railway Stations. Thereafter, the parents of the deceased filed an application in O.A. (II-U)/70/2019 before the Railway Claims Tribunal against the Southern Railways, claiming compensation to the tune of Rs.8,00,000/-.

3. On the other hand, the respondent, filed its reply statement and contended that with regard to the injuries noted in the post-mortem certificate and the place of incident, the alleged accident could have happened due to other reasons other than a fall from the train, and therefore, the respondent is not liable to pay any compensation.

4. Based on the above pleadings and the evidences placed on record, the learned Railways Tribunal had framed the following issues;

1) Whether the Applicants are the only dependants of the deceased ?

2) Whether the deceased was a bona fide passenger as alleged ?

3) Whether there was any untoward incident on 29.05.2018 as defined under Section 123 (c) (2) of the Railway Act,1989, as alleged ?

4) Whether the applicants are entitled for compensation as claimed and other relief if any?

5. The learned Railway Claims Tribunal, after hearing both sides and perusing the materials available on record, proceeded to decide the aforesaid issues. Insofar as Issue No.1 is concerned, the Tribunal, upon perusal of the legal heir certificate dated 16.08.2018, held that the applicants are the only dependants of the deceased. With regard to Issue Nos.2 to 4, the Tribunal held that no valid ticket was recovered from the scene of occurrence and that the applicants had not produced any documentary or admissible evidence to establish that the deceased was a bona fide passenger of the Train. Upon perusal of the inquest and final reports, the Tribunal also observed that they merely indicate that a decomposed body of the deceased was found at KM No.70/100 between Veerakkiyam and Karur Railway Stations and that the deceased had succumbed to multiple injuries.

6. It was further held that no authentic documentary or circumstantial evidence was recovered from the scene of accident and no witness, either among passengers or railway officials, had reported any incident of a person falling from a running train. The Tribunal further observed that the possibility of the incident being a case of run-over due to trespassing on the railway track could not be ruled out. Further the Tribunal also held that there was no evidence to establish that the deceased had fallen from the train, even assuming that the ticket had been lost. Accordingly, the Tribunal vide its order dated 27.07.2021, held that the deceased was not proved to be a bona fide passenger and that the incident was not