Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Tuesday held that compensation cannot be denied to a passenger who was injured while attempting to de-board a running express train after mistakenly boarding it without knowing that it would not halt at his destination.
Justice Jitendra Jain observed that no fault can be attributed to such a passenger, particularly as there are no display boards or public announcements informing passengers about halts of long-distance express trains, unlike suburban railway services.
The court was hearing an appeal filed by Rohidas Kumawat, a resident of Paregaon in Nashik district, who challenged a January 31, 2018 order of the Railway Claims Tribunal, Mumbai, which had rejected his compensation claim. Kumawat was injured in 2017 after he tried to get off the running Guwahati Express at Jalgaon railway station while travelling from Manmad to Jalgaon, and sustained juried on his head and left leg.
The tribunal had rejected his claim on the ground that he had boarded the wrong train, which did not halt at Jalgaon, and was injured while attempting to get off the moving train.
However, the high court found the tribunal’s reasoning unsustainable, noting that there was nothing on record to show that Kumawat was aware that the train would not stop at Jalgaon. The court observed that Jalgaon is an important city and it was possible that the passenger was under a bona fide belief that the train would halt there, and panicked on realising that it would not.
{{/usCountry}}However, the high court found the tribunal’s reasoning unsustainable, noting that there was nothing on record to show that Kumawat was aware that the train would not stop at Jalgaon. The court observed that Jalgaon is an important city and it was possible that the passenger was under a bona fide belief that the train would halt there, and panicked on realising that it would not.
{{/usCountry}}The court further noted that while suburban railway stations have display boards indicating train halts, no such system exists for long-distance trains, even though many passengers use express trains for short-distance travel. In such circumstances, the court held that a passenger who boards a wrong train and attempts to de-board when it does not halt cannot be held responsible for the resulting injury.
The court also recommended that railway authorities introduce a public announcement system in long-distance trains, similar to those available in Vande Bharat Express trains, to prevent future incidents.
The court directed the Central Railway to pay Kumawat ₹80,000 in compensation, plus 6% annual interest from the date of the accident, within three months.
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