सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने टिकेट के अभाव को मुआवजे में बाधा नहीं माना, 8 लाख की राशि बरकरार रखी

IndiaLost ticket 'can't defeat' claim: SC overturns Gujarat HC order on railway compensation

The apex court restored an award of Rs 8 lakh granted by the Railway Claims Tribunal to a Gujarat couple over the death of their son, who fell from a train on Sept 27, 2017.

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that the loss of a ticket during an accident and prolonged hospitalisation was natural, and could not be used to deny railway compensation to grieving parents.

A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Atul S Chandurkar restored an award of Rs 8 lakh granted by the Railway Claims Tribunal to Sukhabhai Nanjibhai Makwana and his wife over the death of their son, Maheshbhai.

The ruling underscores the humane interpretation required while adjudicating compensation claims filed by families of accident victims.

"On preponderance of probabilities, it can be concluded that the victim was a bona fide passenger and that absence of recovery of his ticket cannot result in defeating the claim for compensation, bench said. It ordered Railways to comply with tribunal direction within 30 days, rejecting High Court reasoning as flawed and hyper technical in nature," the court said in the judgement.

The case stemmed from the death of Maheshbhai, who fell from a train travelling between Sabarmati and Ahmedabad railway stations on September 27, 2017. He suffered serious injuries and died on October 31 after a month of hospitalisation and intensive medical treatment. His parents said he had purchased a ticket, but it was lost along with his other belongings.

In June 2022, the tribunal held that he had been a passenger who suffered an accidental fall, and awarded his parents Rs 8 lakh with 9% annual interest from the date of the incident until the date of its order. The railways challenged the award before the Gujarat High Court.

In July 2025, the High Court allowed the railways' appeal and reversed the tribunal's decision, citing the absence of a ticket and the lack of precise details identifying the train journey and boarding station.

Maheshbhai's parents then approached the Supreme Court, asserting that their son was a bona fide passenger and that the accident was an untoward incident under provisions of the Railways Act.

The Supreme Court said the father's statement on oath that Maheshbhai had bought a ticket shifted the burden onto the railways to rebut the claim.

The bench noted that neither railway witness had checked Maheshbhai's pockets for the ticket despite having the opportunity to do so. It said the High Court had given undue importance to the absence of a ticket without considering the father's sworn statement and the fact that the victim had been hospitalised for more than a month.

The bench added that while Maheshbhai was undergoing treatment, it was unlikely that the railway ticket would have been preserved by claimants who were focused on saving his life.

The court also declined to rely on the railways' investigation report, prepared about seven months after the incident with no explanation for the delay, finding it an unreliable and self-serving document.

Senior advocate Nachiketa Joshi appeared for the parents. Additional Solicitor General Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar appeared for the railways.

The New Indian Express

www.newindianexpress.com

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