Document Fragment View

Matching Fragments

This appeal is filed under Section 23 of Railway Claims Tribunal Act assailing the order dated 25.11.2005 passed in O.A.A.No.24 of 2000 on the file of the Railway Claims Tribunal, Secunderabad Bench at Secunderabad (for short, 'the Tribunal')

2. For the sake of convenience, the parties will hereinafter be referred to as they were arrayed in O.A.A. before the Tribunal.

3. The facts leading to filing of the present appeal are as follows:

The applicant, who is the husband of Koutarapu Raja Rajeswari (hereinafter referred to as 'the deceased), filed application stating that on 25.12.1999, the deceased boarded Repalle - Tenali Passenger Train bearing No.125, after purchasing a valid ticket, at Repalle to go to Bhattiprolu. When the Train reached Bhattiprolu Railway Station, the deceased fell down from the train and her body was dragged to certain distance. Due to the injuries, she died. The appellant being the husband of the deceased is entitled to compensation of Rs.4,00,000/-. Hence, the appeal.

5. Basing on the above pleadings, the Tribunal framed the following issues:

(1) Whether the applicant is the sole dependent of the deceased Koutarapu Raja Rajeswari?
(2) Whether the deceased was a bona fide passenger of train Repalle - Guntur passenger travelling from Repalle to Bhattiprolu on 25.12.1999?
(3) Whether the deceased died as a result of an untoward incident of accidental fall from the train at Bhattiprolu Railway Station?
(4) To what relief?

13. As seen from the testimony of AW.1, on the date of the incident, somebody telephoned to him about the death of his wife. Immediately, he rushed to Bhattiprolu Railway Station and found the dead-body of his wife. As seen from the testimony of A.W.2, on the date of incident, he boarded the Train at Repalle and got down at Bhattiprolu Railway Station. His testimony further reveals that while getting down from the Train, he came to know that one of the passengers fell down while de-boarding from the other door of the coach, thereafter he has seen one woman, who sustained injuries by falling down from the Train. As seen from the testimony of R.W.1- Keyman, he found one dead-body of a female person near Bhattiprolu Railway Station and he informed the same to higher officials. As per the recitals of Ex.A.1-F.I.R., the dead-body was found at the end of Bhattiprolu Railway Statioin. A perusal of Exs.A.2-Inquest panchanama and A.3-Post-mortem certificate clearly reveals that the deceased died due to the injuries sustained by falling down from the Train. The oral testimony of A.W.1, A.W.2 and R.W.1 coupled with Exs.A.1 to A.3 clearly reveals that the deceased died by falling down from the Passenger Train.

15. If really the dead-body was found 5 KMs away from Bhattiprolu Railway Station, what prompted R.W.1-Kayman to send intimation to his higher officials about the finding of the dead-body near Bhattiprolu Railway Station? As per the recitals of Ex.A.1- F.I.R., and Ex.A.2-Inquest panchanama, the dead-body was found near Bhattiprolu Railway Station. The finding recorded by the Tribunal is quite contrary to the testimony of A.W.1, A.W.2 and R.W.1 and the recitals of Exs.A.1 and A.2. If the Tribunal has perused the evidence and documents carefully, the finding would be otherwise. Viewed from any angle, I am of the considered view that the finding of the Tribunal, on this aspect, is not sustainable and is liable to be rejected. Basing on the material available on record, this Court can safely arrive at the conclusion that the dead-body of the deceased was found near Bhattiprolu Railway Station. The deceased fell down from the train while de-boarding.