TNNHyderabad: The Telangana high court recently came to the aid of a woman seeking access to her railway compensation without unnecessary litigation by modifying an order passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal in Secunderabad.The tribunal, in March 2026, awarded ₹8 lakh as compensation to the woman for her son’s death. It ordered that ₹80,000, along with interest, be paid to her immediately, while the remaining ₹7.2 lakh be disbursed in 72 instalments of ₹10,000 each.Holding that the condition imposed by the tribunal was unfair, Justice B Vijaysen Reddy directed that the ₹7.2 lakh instead be kept in four fixed deposits of ₹1.8 lakh each.The case involves Valli Nayaki, a teacher from Tamil Nadu, who was awarded compensation following the accidental death of her 30-year-old son while travelling by train in Aug 2023.Her son, a software professional, fell from a moving train in Kumuram Bheem Asifabad district while travelling on the Jabalpur-Yesvantpur Express and died.Valli Nayaki challenged the tribunal’s decision in the high court, arguing that splitting the compensation into 72 instalments was unreasonable. Citing Supreme Court precedents in similar cases, her counsel, E Varun Kumar, contended that compensation is generally staggered to prevent beneficiaries from being exploited.“Such orders are issued in cases where the beneficiaries are minors or are otherwise not in a position to utilise the compensation properly,” Varun Kumar argued.Accordingly, the petitioner sought a direction from the court for a lump-sum release of the compensation amount so that she could use the funds for her daughter’s education and other urgent needs.Opposing the plea, counsel for the South Central Railway argued that the petition was not maintainable before the high court. The counsel submitted that the petitioner could approach the Railway Claims Tribunal if she required immediate funds for her daughter’s education or other family needs.Rejecting the contention, Justice Vijaysen Reddy observed that it would have been reasonable for the tribunal to direct that the remaining ₹7.2 lakh be kept in a few fixed deposits rather than 72 separate fixed deposits.The judge further ordered that the amount be kept in four fixed deposits of ₹1.8 lakh each. He also granted liberty to the petitioner to approach the tribunal for withdrawal of funds for her daughter’s education or any other purpose, and directed the tribunal to consider such an application on its merits and in accordance with the law.
