Railways must pay compensation if a person falls off crowded train and suffers injuries: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has observed that local trains are the lifeline of Mumbai and if a person falls and suffers injuries while trying to board an overcrowded train it will fall within the ambit of an untoward incident and compensation will have to be paid by the RailwaysA single bench of Justice Bharati Dangre directed the Western Railways to pay Rs 3 lakh to a 75yearold man who suffered injuries to his leg after falling off an overcrowded local trainA copy of the order dated April 12 was made available on TuesdayThe Western Railways argued that the case did not fall under the provisions of section 124A of the Railways Act which states that compensation has to be paid in cases of untoward incidents It claimed that the petitioner Nitin Hundiwala had tried to board a moving trainJustice Dangre however refused to accept the Railways argument and noted that the present case clearly fell within the situation covered by untoward incident as per section 124A of the ActIf in daily chores a passenger attempts to gain entry into an overcrowded train and is pushed by other passengers resulting in his or her fall then there is no reason why such an incident cannot fall within the ambit of an untoward incident the order saidLocal trains in Mumbai are often called the life line of the city with a huge number of the citys inhabitants relying on them to get to work and other destinations at some point of time the court saidEven it is not unknown for the residents of Mumbai who commute through Railways to undertake risk at some point of time in order to reach their destination on time This city which is affordable and convenient this calculated risk cannot surely amount to a criminal actiquest Justice Dangre saidThe order further stated that the purpose of section 124A of the Railways Act was to provide speedy remedy to an injured passenger or to the dependents of a deceased passenger involved in an untoward incidentThis provision of the Act cannot be stretched to deny compensation to a person who may act callously or imprudently at times Justice Dangre saidHundiwala had filed an appeal in the high court challenging an order passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal in July 2013 rejecting his claim for compensation of Rs 4 lakh from the Western Railways on account of the injuries he suffered in November 2011 after he fell off a crowded local trainAccording to Hundiwalas plea on the day of the incident he had boarded an overcrowded train from Dadar railway station He was pushed by the crowd in the compartment and since he was standing on the edge he lost his balance and fell from the moving train and suffered injuries to his head and legHundiwala claimed that till date he is suffering due to the accident and has difficulty while walking and lifting heavy thingsThe Railways Tribunal had rejected his claim after accepting the Western Railways argument that Hundiwala had tried to board a moving train which is an imprudent and criminal act on his part and hence the same cannot be termed as an untoward incidentThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever