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Smt. Poonam & Ors. vs. Union of India

First Appeal from Order · 2026:DHC:8298Decided 24 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
FAO 235/2022CNR: DLHC010345482022
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri

Background

The appellants' relative died after falling from an overcrowded train travelling from Sasni to Aligarh, allegedly pushed by a co-passenger during a sudden jerk; his journey ticket was said to have been lost in the incident. The Tribunal rejected the claim, treating the missing ticket and the possibility that he was instead "run over" while walking on the tracks as fatal to the case.

Decision Breakdown

The High Court held that non-recovery of a ticket does not, by itself, disprove bona fide passenger status, especially where the claimants' account was consistent and supported by affidavit. It also found the Tribunal's "run-over" theory was based on the Investigating Officer's and Divisional Railway Manager's own "conjectures and surmises," with no eyewitness or identified train supporting it. On a cumulative view, the accidental-fall version was found more probable, and the appeal was allowed with the matter remanded for assessment of compensation.

Lesson Learnt

Railway Claims Tribunals cannot reject a compensation claim by speculating an alternative, unproven cause of death; the claimant only needs to establish bona fide passenger status on a preponderance of probability, not eliminate every other possibility.

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