[Railways Act] Dependent's LR Entitled To Compensation Even If Dependent Of Deceased Dies During Pendency Of Appeal: Bombay HC

The Bombay High Court has held that the legal representative of a dependent of a deceased passenger is entitled to receive compensation under the Railways Act, 1989, even if the dependent dies during the pendency of proceedings. The Court observed that such compensation partakes the character of the deceased dependent's estate and does not abate with their death.Justice N.J. Jamadar was deciding an appeal filed by Smt. Sonal Vaibhav Sawant, whose father, Mahadev Tambe (since deceased), had originally approached the Railway Claims Tribunal seeking compensation under Section 124-A of the Railways Act following the death of his 25-year-old son, Amit Tambe, in an alleged train accident in 2011.The Tribunal had rejected the claim, doubting whether Amit had fallen from a running train, despite his possession of a valid ticket and identity card. During the pendency of the appeal, Mahadev passed away, and his daughter Sonal, though not a dependent under the Act, sought to prosecute the appeal in her capacity as his legal representative.Rejecting the Union's objection to her locus, the Court ruled:“Sonal, in her capacity as the legal representative of Mahadev, the deceased appellant, is entitled to prosecute the appeal and receive compensation which would have been paid to Mahadev as it partakes the character of the estate of Mahadev.”The Court also held that the Tribunal had erred in rejecting the claim on speculative grounds, noting that the deceased was found with a valid season ticket and identity card, and the Tribunal had gone beyond the pleadings and evidence to invent a defence not raised by the Railway Administration. The Court noted that compensation under Section 124-A flows from strict liability and crystallizes on the death of a bona fide passenger in an untoward incident. Once that liability is triggered, the compensation becomes a vested right in favour of the dependent, which survives to the legal representative under general law.“…the nature of the liability of the railway administration, once the primary facts are established…, the distinction dependent upon the outcome of the proceeding before the Tribunal, pales in significance. If the claimant was of the class where he becomes dependent on account of the relationship, and was not required to further prove the actual dependency…, then the right to receive compensation crystalizes as of the date of death of the deceased passenger and the fact that the Tribunal unjustifiably rejected the claim, does not defeat such crystalized or vested right in the event the dependent/claimant dies after preferring an appeal,” the Court said.Accordingly, the Court set aside the Tribunal's decision and directed the Union to pay ₹8,00,000 to Sonal.Case Title: Smt. Sonal Vaibhav Sawant v. Union of India [First Appeal No. 50 of 2015]Click Here To Read/Download Order

[Railways Act] Dependent's LR Entitled To Compensation Even If Dependent Of Deceased Dies During Pendency Of Appeal: Bombay HC

Saksham Vaishya

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