Summary: A Bombay High Court decision on January 19, 2026, awarded compensation to Seetabai Pandharinath Temghare after her husband, a railway worker, died in a train accident. The case focused on whether he had a valid train ticket.
On November 11, 2011, Seetabai Pandharinath Temghare's husband tragically fell from an Express train between Khandala and Monkey Hill, which led to his untimely death. The Railway Claims Tribunal initially rejected Seetabai's claim, arguing he didn't have a valid ticket.
The main issue was whether the deceased had a valid ticket. As a railway worker, he had a second-class free pass. However, he hadn't filled in his travel details on the pass, which led to questions about whether he had a valid ticket.
The court noted that the deceased was not working at the time of the incident, which meant he wasn't automatically covered under certain railway protections.
Judge Jitendra Jain looked at the rules for railway workers, noting they are entitled to free travel passes. The pass was valid during the incident, but the missing travel details raised doubts. Despite this, the court found no evidence the pass was used incorrectly.
The judgment stated that just because an employee with a valid pass doesn't fill in the details doesn't mean they were traveling without a valid pass.
The court referred to similar cases, including one from the Andhra Pradesh High Court, which supported the idea that not filling in travel details doesn't make a pass invalid. However, because of the missing details, full compensation wasn't granted.
The court awarded Seetabai Rs. 3 lakhs with interest, acknowledging the situation but using discretion based on similar past cases.
Judge Jain overturned the tribunal's order, allowing Seetabai to include her children as beneficiaries in her application. The compensation, capped at Rs. 8 lakhs, is to be shared equally among the dependents.
The court concluded that the appellant is entitled to Rs. 3 lakhs plus interest, with a maximum limit of Rs. 8 lakhs.
