Lata Vs Union of India & Anr. (Supreme Court of India)
The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and set aside the orders of the Railway Claims Tribunal and the Madhya Pradesh High Court, holding that the absence of a railway ticket by itself cannot defeat a compensation claim where the surrounding circumstances establish that the deceased was a bona fide passenger. The Court observed that the Railways Act is a beneficial welfare legislation and claims under Section 124A are to be decided on the preponderance of probabilities rather than the criminal standard of proof. It held that the claimant had discharged the initial burden by filing an affidavit explaining that the ticket was kept in the deceased’s missing travel bag, while there was no dispute regarding the deceased’s travel or accidental death. The Court awarded compensation of ₹8,00,000 and directed payment within four weeks, failing which interest at 8% from the date of filing of the claim petition would apply. The Court also referred to the Railway Commercial Manual and Operating Manual regarding passenger safety, ticket checking and overcrowding, and suggested replacing the expression “second class passenger” with terminology referring to the coach rather than the passenger.
Brief facts: The appellant’s husband was travelling from Raipur to Ahmedabad when he accidentally fell from a running train and died. The family claimed that his railway ticket had been kept in his travel bag, which went missing after the accident. The Railway Claims Tribunal and the Madhya Pradesh High Court rejected the compensation claim on the ground that the deceased had not been proved to be a bona fide passenger, since no ticket was recovered and there were minor inconsistencies regarding the date of travel. The widow appealed before the Supreme Court.
