Section 124-A of the Railways Act, 1989 establishes absolute liability for untoward incidents. The burden of proof to establish exceptions lies on the Railway Administration, and the absence of a ticket does not inherently disprove a passenger's bonafide status if an accidental fall from a train is established.

JUDGEMENT

1. The Claim Application has been filed by the Applicant, Ankush Dattu Hindola, for compensation under Section 16 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987 read with Section 123 (c) (2) & Section 124-A of the Railways Act, 1989, for injuries sustained by him in an alleged untoward incident, occurred on 10.02.2025.

The factual matrix of the matter in nut-shell is as below:

2. It is stated that Ankush Dattu Hindola (hereafter referred as injured), resident of Mumbai. It is alleged that on 10.02.2025, he was travelling from Thane to Nashik Railway Station by Train no. 12105. When the train was at Kalyan Railway station, due to sudden push from the other passengers, he accidentally fell down from the train. The injured was taken to Rukminibai Hospital, Kalyan and for better medical treatment he was taken to Sion Hospital. It is further stated that the injured was travelling as a bonafide passenger, on the strength of a valid Second Class ticket Ex. Thane to Nashik and the same was lost in the untoward incident.

3. In response to notice– Railway Authority appeared and opposed the claim application. The Respondent filed written statement and also produced on record the DRM reports, accompanied with other relevant police papers marked as “R-1”. It has been alleged that on 10.02.2025 at approximately 20:50 hrs., the Kalyan Dy.SM issued memo to GRP/KYN, informing him that, "Shri Ankush Dattu Hindola, 50 years old, was lying injured under train 12105 parked at Kalyan PF No. 04, with both his legs up to his ankles." He was given F/Aid and sent to Rukminibai Hospital for further treatment by GRP along with stretcher bearers at 20.50 hrs. Later the said GRP staff took the said injured person to He was taken to Rukminibai Hospital, Kalyan for treatment where the on duty doctor treated him and for further treatment the injured person was taken to Sion Hospital on his own responsibility. After examining the documents received in the said case, it was found that the said the incident occurred on 10.02.2025 at around 20.28 hrs at Kalyan Railway Station PF No. 04. Regarding the above incident, theDy.SM has mentioned in Memo, Station Diary of the date of incident and Form No. 1 that, "Shri Ankush Dattu Hindola, age 50 years, was lying injured under train 12105 halted at Kalyan PF No. 04. Both his legs were amputated above the ankles. He was given F/Aid and sent to Rukminibai Hospital for further treatment at 20.50 hrs by GRP PC 1214 Kadam along with stretcher porters." CCTV footage of Kalyan Station PF No. 04 was checked in which the said person was seen falling in the gap between the train and the platform while trying to alight from the moving train No. 12105 (Down Vidarbha Express) at Kalyan Station PF No. 04. Regarding the above incident, on 29.09.2025, RPF Kalyan recorded the statement of Train Manager of Train No. 12105 (Down Vidarbha Express), Bhaskar Madhukar Karde, age 55 years, in which he stated that Train No. 12105 (Down Vidarbha Express) arrived at Kalyan Railway Station PF No. 04 at around 20.23 hrs and at 20.25 hrs, the train suddenly stopped when there was an ACP in the train. Later, he contacted the Out Door Sub Station Manager Kalyan through walkie talkie and asked about the ACP, who told that there was an ACP in the train due to a person falling under the train. Later, he got off the train and went to the spot of the incident, where he saw that a person was lying on the track under coach No. S-5 (SCR 191700 LWSCN), the fourth coach from the engine side,