The Bombay high court came to the rescue of a Thane resident, who had filed a petition seeking compensation from the railways after she she fell off a moving train, while thwarting a robbery attempt, and lost her legs.
Lambasting the railway authorities, the court said, "Instead of commending her for her brave act, you (railways) are blaming her for trying to fight back a thief on board. Are you saying that citizens of India should give in to the demands of robbers and thieves?"
A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and Ajey Gadkari were irked with the affidavit filed by the divisional medical officer of Central Railway stating that the girl, Bhavika Mehta, could have avoided the accident.
Mehta, who was travelling from Amritsar to Mumbai Central in 2012, was robbed by a thief on board. When she tried to chase him, the accused pushed her out of the moving train. Because of the injuries, her leg had to be amputated.
Because she could not take medical aid in a nearby railway/civil hospital, she got herself admitted to a private hospital in Chandigarh and claimed a compensation of Rs9 lakh. This was granted to her but, later, to fit a prosthetic leg an extra Rs5 lakh was required, which the railways has refused to give.
Appearing for the girl, advocate Uday Warunjikar argued, "The railways has been negligent in not attending to the medical needs of the girl, her family members had to run from pillar to post to get the required amount."
Counsel for the railways said, "The railways is liable to pay compensation only if it is proved that negligence was committed on its behalf."
The bench then said, "It is an admitted fact that no police constable was deployed in the compartment and, if that is so, it is a clear violation of the fundamental rights of commuters as you endangered their lives."
The court, while adjourning the matter for further hearing to November 20, directed the railways to inform it of its decision, whether it would be paying the remaining claimed amount or not.
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