Mumbai: The Bombay high court has directed the Western Railway to pay up to Rs 8 lakh compensation to the family of an employee who died after falling off the train near Virar railway station.Justice Jitendra Jain on Monday observed that such matters where railway employees have died due to accidents “should have never landed in this court or in the tribunal”. The “railways should have, on their own, and more particularly after examining conflicting reports by their own authorities, should have granted compensation without making the employee’s dependents run from pillar to post… I hope that in future such things are not repeated,” he said.Ramnna Burumuri worked in the commercial department and was posted at Elphinstone Road office. On Sept 12, 2020, he was returning from work around 3 am. As the train approached Virar station, due to heavy rush, he fell down. He was declared dead at a primary health centre. In March 2015, the Railway Claims Tribunal (Mumbai) rejected his wife and daughter’s application for Rs 4 lakh compensation. In 2016 they appealed to HC.Justice Jain said for the grant of compensation, the deceased should be a bona fide passenger and death should occur due to an untoward incident. There was no dispute that Burumuri was a bona fide passenger and was issued a free pass. Merely because it was not found at the time of the accident or the deceased was not carrying it, “cannot be a ground for rejecting the claim”, even more so when he was a WR employee.The station master memo stated Burumuri was found on the track between Nalasopara and Virar. The inquest panchnama stated his death was due to dashing against a mail train as he stayed near Virar (E) station with high trespass chance. The Divisional Railway Manager’s (DRM) report said he was knocked down while crossing the track.Justice Jain said the tribunal “fell into grave error” by relying on conflicting and “self-contradictory” versions of three different authorities. The memo gave no reason for the cause of death, the panchnama was not recorded at site and the DRM report was based on it. Rejecting the reports, Justice Jain said Burumuri fell down from a moving train. Such an incident “would squarely fall within the phrase accidental falling from a train which defines ‘untoward incident’,” he added. He directed WR to pay Rs 4 lakh with 6% interest from the date of the accident till payment, subject to a cap of Rs 8 lakh within eight weeks of the claimants making the application.
