Cuttack: Orissa high court has held that interest on compensation awarded to victims of railway accidents must be calculated from the date of the accident itself and not from any later stage of the proceedings, such as the date on which claimants produce evidence before the tribunal.Delivering the ruling on July 7, Justice B P Routray modified an award passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal, Bhubaneswar bench, in the case relating to the death of Radha Shyam Bindhani, who died after falling from a running train on Aug 28, 2024. The appeal was filed by the deceased’s wife, Almani Bindhani, along with son and daughter, challenging only the tribunal’s direction on payment of interest. While the tribunal had awarded Rs 8 lakh as compensation on Sept 19, 2025, it ordered payment of simple interest at 9% per annum only from July 24, 2025, the date on which the claimants adduced evidence.The family had accepted the compensation amount but argued that the tribunal’s decision to postpone the commencement of interest was contrary to settled law. Their review petition was also rejected by the tribunal on Feb 5, 2026, prompting them to move high court.Justice Routray agreed with the appellants, observing that the issue had already been conclusively settled by the Supreme Court. “It is thus grossly illegal to award interest from any subsequent date after the date of accident. In other words, the interest has to be paid from the date of accident,” said the court.The judge noted that the tribunal had itself accepted Aug 28, 2024, as the undisputed date of the accident. In such circumstances, there was no legal justification for postponing the accrual of interest until the claimants entered the witness box.Modifying the tribunal’s award to that extent, the high court directed the Union of India to pay interest on the compensation amount with effect from Aug 28, 2024.“Accordingly, the claimants are found entitled to get interest on the compensation amount at such rates fixed by the tribunal from the date of accident,” Justice Routray observed.
