Presumption Favors Claimant In Railway Accident Claims; Non-Recovery Of Ticket Not Fatal: Rajasthan High Court

The Rajasthan High Court has set aside an order of the Railways Claims Tribunal that rejected a claim filed by the petitioner in relation to her son's death, opining that whenever any untoward incident happens within the Railway premises or any railway track, the presumption lies against the Railway Authorities unless any evidence is submitted, suggesting otherwise.

The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand was hearing a petition filed by a mother challenging rejection of her claim filed in relation to her son's death following an untoward incident while he was allegedly travelling in the train.

It was argued on her behalf that while her son was travelling in the train, carrying a valid journey ticket, a sudden jerk led to her son falling down from the train to his death. However, the claim was rejected on a technical count that no ticket was found in the possession of the deceased, when his dead body was recovered from the tracks.

It was the case of the railway authorities, that firstly, based on the inquest report, no valid ticket was found in the possession of the deceased, hence it could not be assumed that he was travelling in the train.

And further, since the body of the deceased was split in two, it was a case of run over by another train and could not be treated as a case of sustaining injuries due to falling from the train.

After hearing the contentions, the Court referred to the Supreme Court case of Union of India v Rina Devi in which it was held,

“…mere presence of a body on the Railway premises will not be conclusive to hold that injured or deceased was a bona fide passenger for which claim for compensation could be maintained. However, mere absence of ticket with such injured or deceased will not negative the claim that he was a bona fide passenger. Initial burden will be on the claimant which can be discharged by filing an affidavit of the relevant facts and burden will then shift on the Railways.”

The Court added, "The presumption lies with the Railway Authorities whenever any untoward incident occurs, within the Railway premises or on any railway track, unless any evidence, otherwise, is available on record. In the instant case, no such evidence has been brought on record by the railway authorities that the deceased has committed suicide or he has been struck down by another train and due to that incident his body was found lying on the railway track and on account of the said incident his body split into two parts."

Hence, it was held that the tribunal had committed an error in rejecting the claim.

Accordingly, the judgment was set aside, and the matter was remitted to the tribunal to be decided afresh.

Title: Smt. Gulab Devi v Union of India

Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 56

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