‘No fault of passenger’: Bombay high court directs railways to pay Rs 80,000 to man who fell from running train at non-halt station

MUMBAI: Bombay high court directed the railways to grant compensation of ₹80,000 to a man who, while sitting near a train door, fell in January 2018 from a running train while de-boarding at a station which was not an official halt. The Central Railway said no compensation could be awarded as it was a 'self-inflicted injury', which under the rules excludes compensation.Justice Jitendra Jain, in his March 24 judgment, said long-distance trains have no display board about halts and when persons take these trains for short journeys, "if a person boards a train and train does not have halt at the railway station where he wants to de-board, no fault can be attributed to such a passenger.''But Justice Jain said, "It is advisable to wait till the train halts at the next railway station and pay necessary fine for travelling beyond the destination for which the ticket was purchased,'' adding, "I am conscious that at that point of time, a human being may take steps to risk the life, but it is at that point of time that test of mental balance is tested. This is required in the larger interest of the dependents of the passenger. The Railway authorities should introduce a public announcement system like that in Vande Bharat train, in all the trains to reduce such incidents.'' mailed for online