Fall from train can be compensated: Delhi HC

If a passenger dies due to any untoward incident, his dependents are entitled to compensation from the railway ministry regardless of whether it was neglect, wrongful act or a fault by the department.

Death due to a fall from a running train or due to a jerk that’s often felt when a train is brought to a halt, squarely falls within the definition of “untoward incident”, says the Delhi high court.

Accidental fall of any passenger from a train carrying passengers would amount to an “untoward incident” as envisaged under Section 123(c) (2) of the Act, the court held while resolving a decade-old dispute between the dependents of a passenger who died after he fell from a running train and a reluctant railway ministry that contested the compensation of Rs4 lakh ordered by the Railway Accident Claims Tribunal.

The railway ministry counsel said the passenger died as he was negligent. But, justice AK Pathak rejected the argument and said railways have “no business to issue tickets in excess of the carrying capacity of a train”.

One Dharampal Dahiya used to daily commute from Sonepat to Faridabad by train. On October 11, 2000 at about 6 pm, he was trying to board a train at Subji Mandi. The train started moving and he slipped from the footboard and died. His widow Suresh Devi and two minor children have been litigating for compensation under Section 124-A of the Railway Act.