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Mahipal & Anr. vs. Union of India

First Appeal from Order · 2026:DHC:8983Decided 9 Oct 2026New Delhi Bench
FAO 155/2016CNR: DLHC010988322016
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri

Background

A young man fell from a moving EMU train near Delhi after being jostled in a crowded compartment and later died from his injuries. His parents sought compensation from the Railways, but the Railway Claims Tribunal dismissed their claim, doubting that he was a genuine ticketed passenger since no ticket was recovered from him and the Railways alleged he was leaning out of the train.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court held that the absence of a recovered ticket does not by itself disprove bona fide passenger status, especially where the father's testimony (that a ticket was bought but lost in the accident) went unrebutted by any railway record. It also found the Railways' version, based on an unproven departmental report whose author was never produced as a witness, insufficient to establish the statutory exception of a "self-inflicted" injury. The Court set aside the dismissal and sent the case back to the tribunal to calculate and pay compensation.

Lesson Learnt

Families of railway accident victims are not required to produce a physical train ticket to prove their loved one was a genuine passenger; credible supporting testimony is enough unless the Railways can prove otherwise with real evidence, not just an unproven report.

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