CUTTACK: The Orissa High Court has directed East Coast Railway to pay Rs 9.23 lakh as compensation to the legal heir of Sarbeswar Swain, who died following an accident during a train journey 19 years ago.
Delivering the verdict recently, Justice SK Panigrahi came down heavily on the Railways for denying compensation and prolonging the matter for nearly two decades. The court set aside the April 4, 2024 order of the Railway Claims Tribunal, Bhubaneswar bench, which had dismissed the claim petition filed by Satyajit Swain, the deceased’s legal heir.
Sarbeswar Swain had been travelling in Neelachal Express from Allahabad to Cuttack on December 25, 2006, when he reportedly fell inside the compartment due to a sudden jolt, sustained serious injuries and later died during treatment at Gaya government hospital on December 27, 2006.
The postmortem revealed the cause of death as “shock and haemorrhage”, contradicting the Tribunal’s earlier finding of “cardiac arrest”.
While the Tribunal dismissed the original claim in 2014, and again in 2024 after remand, the high court noted that the deceased was a bonafide passenger and no statutory exceptions like suicide or criminal act applied to his death.
“The Railways enjoy monopoly over passenger transportation across vast stretches of this country. With this privilege comes an onerous responsibility to uphold the trust reposed in them by millions of citizens,” observed Justice Panigrahi, adding, “When a passenger dies during train travel, the first obligation of the Railways is to extend compassion and assistance to the grieving family.”
He directed East Coast Railway to deposit the compensation amount of Rs 9,23,562 directly into the bank account of the petitioner within four months. If the payment is delayed beyond this period, interest at 7 per cent per annum will be applicable from the date of judgement until full realisation.