Sh. Virender vs. Union of India
Background
On 08.02.2017, Virender boarded a passenger train from Okhla Railway Station for Palwal after buying a valid ticket. When the train stopped at Tughlakabad, he got down for water; the train started moving and while trying to re-board, he fell and sustained grievous injuries, later having his left leg amputated below the knee. His bag containing his clothes and ticket was lost in the incident. The Railway Claims Tribunal dismissed his compensation claim, reasoning it was implausible he would keep his ticket in his bag for such a short daytime journey.
Decision Breakdown
The High Court noted the Tribunal had already found the fall to be an "untoward incident," which was unchallenged and final, leaving only the bona fide passenger question. Applying Union of India v. Rina Devi, the Court held that the appellant's consistent account, reiterated in his contemporaneous GRP statement, that he bought a Rs. 15 ticket and kept it in his bag due to fear of losing it, was sufficient to discharge his initial burden, especially since the Railways led no evidence to prove he travelled ticketless. The Court also relied on its own precedent in Raj Kumar v. Union of India, where a claimant's affidavit alone was accepted as sufficient absent contrary evidence from the Railways. The impugned judgment was set aside and the case remanded for computation of compensation.
Lesson Learnt
A passenger's own consistent, contemporaneous account of having purchased and then lost a ticket can be enough to establish bona fide passenger status; the Tribunal cannot reject a claim merely by speculating about how a person would ordinarily carry a ticket.