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Sh. Rinku Singh & Ors. vs. Union of India

First Appeal from Order · 2026:DHC:7762Decided 10 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
FAO 79/2025CNR: DLHC010175702025
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri

Background

A man died after falling from a moving, crowded unreserved train compartment while allegedly standing near the gate. His family's compensation claim was rejected by the Railway Claims Tribunal because his ticket was never recovered from the body and his son (who filed the claim) had not personally witnessed him buying the ticket or boarding the train.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court held the Tribunal was wrong to reject the claim merely because there was no eyewitness to the ticket purchase: under Supreme Court precedent, a claimant's sworn statement about the deceased's journey is enough to shift the burden to the Railways to disprove it, which the Railways failed to do here (it relied only on an internal report, without producing any witness). The Court also rejected the Tribunal's theory (based only on the body's injuries) that the man must have been hit while crossing the tracks rather than having fallen from the train, since there was no direct evidence supporting that alternative theory.

Lesson Learnt

Families of accident victims are not required to have personally witnessed the deceased's ticket purchase or boarding: a sworn, specific claim about the journey is enough to trigger compensation unless the Railways can produce solid contrary evidence.

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