The Bombay High Court has acknowledged the harsh reality that suburban train passengers often have no option but to stand at the doors during peak hours due to severe overcrowding. The court said that even the judiciary cannot deny this situation and upheld the compensation awarded to the family of a passenger who died after falling from a local train. It ruled that such travel cannot be labelled as negligence.
Justice Jitendra Jain delivered the judgment while dismissing the Railways’ claim that the passenger’s death was caused by his own carelessness in standing near the door. The Railway Accident Claims Tribunal had granted compensation to the victim’s family in December 2009, which the Central Government had challenged.
The victim had fallen from a local train on October 28, 2005, while travelling between Bhayander and Marine Lines stations on the Western Railway. He died a few days later during treatment.
The court noted that trains on the Virar–Churchgate route are extremely crowded during morning and evening rush hours, making it difficult even to enter the compartments. This situation continues even today, and has, in fact, become worse. Under such conditions, the court said, passengers often have no choice but to stand at the door to reach their workplace or business. Therefore, calling this negligence is unacceptable.
The Railways had also argued that the victim was not a valid passenger because no ticket or pass was found on him after the accident. However, his wife submitted his train pass and identity card to show that he regularly travelled by local train. The court accepted this and said there could be many reasons why he might not have had the pass with him on that particular day.
The High Court concluded that the victim’s family was rightly granted compensation and found no error in the tribunal’s order, thereby dismissing the Railways’ appeal.
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