CUTTACK: Holding that victims of railway accidents cannot be deprived of interest on compensation because of delays during adjudication, the Orissa High Court has ruled that interest on award by the Railway Claims Tribunal must run from the date of the accident and not from the date claimants adduce evidence.
A single judge bench of Justice BP Routray passed the order on Tuesday while considering an appeal filed by Almani Bindhani and her family members against a Railway Claims Tribunal, Bhubaneswar bench, award relating to the death of her husband Radha Shyam Bindhani after falling from a running train on August 28, 2024.
According to case records, Radha Shyam, a resident of Bagbuda village under Jharpokharia police station limits in Mayurbhanj district, fell from Bhubaneswar-Puducherry Superfast Express between Bilragunta and Alluvuru Road in Andhra Pradesh. He and Almani were going Chennai for labour work and boarded the train from Bhubaneswar.
The tribunal had awarded the family `8 lakh as compensation in its September 19, 2025 judgment and directed the Railways to pay simple interest at 9 per cent per annum. However, it ordered that the interest would accrue only from July 24, 2025, the date on which the claimants led their evidence before the tribunal.
A review petition challenging that direction was also rejected by the tribunal on February 5, 2026. Before the high court, counsel for the appellants clarified that the family had no dispute over the quantum of compensation but challenged only the starting point for calculating interest, arguing that settled legal principles require interest to be paid from the date of the accident.
Accepting the contention, Justice Routray observed that the issue already stands 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,” he held.
The high court directed the Centre, represented through the Railways, to deposit the compensation amount along with interest calculated from August 28, 2024, in favour of the deceased’s kin Almani, son Gurucharan and daughter Sabita without further delay.