THE HONOURABLE SMT. JUSTICE M.G.PRIYADARSINI CIVIL MISCELLANEOUS APPEAL No.605 OF 2019

JUDGMENT:

1. This Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is filed by the applicants under Section 23 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1978 (for short ‘Act’) aggrieved by the judgment dated 13.02.2019 in OA.II.No.270 of 2015 on the file of the Railway Claims Tribunal, Secunderabad Bench at Secunderabad (hereinafter referred to as ‘Tribunal’), wherein the claim petition filed by the applicants claiming compensation of Rs.10,00,000/- with interest for death of one N.Krishnaiah (hereinafter referred to as ‘deceased’), was dismissed.

2. For the sake of convenience, hereinafter, the parties will be referred as per their array before the Tribunal.

3. The brief facts of the case of the applicants are that the deceased was resident of Upperu Village, Dharur Mandal, Mahabubnagar District and worked as a coolie. His neighbor one Mr.Kitika Ramchander met with a road accident and was undergoing treatment at CGH, Kurnool and as such, the deceased was staying in the Hospital with the injured by providing services to him. While so, on 12.06.2015, with a view to go to his village, the deceased informed to one Mr.K.Madanlal, who is son of K.Ramchander (injured) and went to Kurnool City Railway Station in night hours and purchased a 2nd class super fast train journey ticket bearing No.A26502925 from Kurnool city to Gadwal and boarded the train No.12786 Banglore City – Kacheguda Superfast Express in the early hours of 13.06.2015 and also informed to his wife on cellphone and to Mr.K.Madanlal about his journey by the said train and while travelling, as there was heavy rush of passengers in the compartment, suddenly the deceased slipped and fell down accidentally from the said running train at Km.No.189/0 in between Poodoor and Gadwal railway stations. As a result, he sustained severe head injury and other multiple fatal injuries and died on the spot. The deceased was in possession of the train journey ticket. The applicants are dependents of the deceased and sudden death of the deceased devastated them both mentally and financially. Hence, the present claim application is filed by the applicants seeking compensation for the death of the deceased.

4. The respondent railways filed written statement denying the contents of the claim application and contended that there is no cause of action for applicant as the claim does not fall within the ambit of Section 123(c) or Section 124-A of Railways Act, 1989 and further contended that no on toward accident has happened between Poodur and Gadwal railway stations and no passengers has informed any fall from the train and no ACP to the train. There was no eye witness to the alleged incident. Hence, there is no evidence to show that the deceased travelled and died in an untoward incident and also that the train passed through poodur at 3:19 hrs and Gadwal 03.26 hrs, as per the postmortem report, the death occurred between 24 to 48 hours and the postmortem was done at 16:00 hrs to 16:30 hrs on 13.06.2015. Therefore, the alleged incident was caused by the conduct and the criminal acts of the deceased and such act dis-entitle the applicants from claiming any compensation for such self inflicted injuries and due to his own criminal act and prayed to dismiss the claim application.

5. Based on the pleadings of the parties, the Tribunal framed the following issues:

1. Whether the applicant(s) is/are dependent(s) of the deceased?

2. Whether the deceased was a bonafide passenger of the train in question and died as a result of an untoward incident?

3. Whether the applicant(s) is/are entitled to the compensation as claimed and to what relief

6. The applicants, in order to substantiate their claim, examined applicant No.1 as A.W.1 and got marked Exs.A-1 to A-8. On behalf of the respondent, no witness was examined.

However Ex.R.1, DRM report was filed.

7. The Tribunal, after considering both oral and documentary evidence placed on record, has dismissed th