Bombay HC granted compensation to parents of a 17-year-old who died in a 2008 railway accident, overturning a tribunal’s rejection. The Bombay HC on Friday passed an order stating that parents who have lost their young son in a railway accident will not use such a tragic incident to claim compensation
Representational Image. File Pic
The Bombay High Court on Friday passed an order stating that parents who have lost their young son in a railway accident will not use such a tragic incident to make a false claim of compensation.
As reported by news agency PTI, Justice Jitendra Jain also granted compensation to the parents of 17-year-old Jaideep Tambe, who died in a railway accident in the city in 2008.
The High Court also quashed a January 2016 order of the Railways Claims Tribunal which had rejected the claim for compensation on the ground that there was no record that the victim was a bona fide passenger and died in an accident on the tracks, reported PTI.
As per the appeal filed by his parents, Tambe was travelling from Jogeshwari to Lower Parel with his friends on the Western Railway's suburban line when he fell down between Elphinstone and Lower Parel stations due to overcrowding.
Soon after, his friends got down at Lower Parel, and instead of informing station officials about the incident, rushed to the accident spot and took him to KEM Hospital at Parel for treatment. Unfortunately, he was declared dead on arrival.
Following the unfortunate incident, his friends then informed the police official present at the hospital about the accident.
The railway authorities then opposed the parents' claim for compensation, stating there was no official record of the accident. However, the high court, in its judgement, held that there was no reason to suspect anything fishy.
The High Court also said that, "Loss to parents on the death of a young son is unimaginable and cannot be arrived at in monetary terms, and when such a tragic and untoward incident happens when the son is on his way to take darshan of Lord Ganesha, normally parents would not take advantage of such an incident to make a claim under the Railways Act and litigate for decades for a paltry sum," as cited by news agency PTI.
The court order also stated that “The Railways Act was beneficial legislation, and hence circumstantial evidence can be considered while deciding whether an ‘untoward incident’ on the tracks occurred or not.”
Moreover, the parents were entitled to a compensation of Rs 4 lakh with 6 per cent interest from the date of the accident, the court ruled.
The court also asserted, "However, if the aggregate amount is more than Rs 8 lakh, then the appellant's applicants would be entitled to Rs 8 lakh only," reported PTI.
(With inputs from PTI)
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