20.Some Important Sections of Railways Act, 1989
Liability of Railway Administration for Death and Injury to Passengers due to Accident
Sec: 123
Definition – In this chapter , unless the context otherwise require s :-
(a)“accident” means an accident of the nature described in section 124.
(b) “dependent” means any of the following relatives of a deceased passenger namely :-
(i)the wife , husband , son and daughter , and in case of the deceased passengerisunmarried or is a minor his parent .
(ii) the parent , minor brother or unmarried sister , widowed sister , widowed daughter inlaw and a minor child of a pre-deceased son, if dependent wholly or partly on the deceased passenger .
(i)a minor child of a pre-deceaseddaughter , if wholly dependent on thedeceased passenger.
(ii) the paternal grandparent wholly dependent on the deceased passenger .
( c )“ untoward incident ’’means .
1. (i)The commission of a terrorist act within the meaning of sub-section (I)of section 3 of the terrorist and Disruptive Activities ( Prevention ) Act 1997 ( 2B of 1987):- or
(ii)The making of a violent attack or the commission of robbery or dacoit ; or
(iii)The indulging in rioting shoot-out or arson , by any person in or any train carrying passengers, or in waiting hall, cloak room or reservation or booking office or on any platform or in any otherplace within the precincts of a railway station, or
2. The accidental falling of any passenger from a train carrying passengers
Sec: 124
Extent of liability - Whenin the course of working a railway, an accident occurs, beingeither a collision between trains of which one is a train carrying passengers orthederailment of or other accident to atrain or anypart of a train carrying passengers, then whether or not there has beenany wrongful act, neglect or default, on the part of the railway administration such as would entitle a passenger who has been injured or has suffered a loss to maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof, the railway administration shall, notwithstanding anything contained in any other law, be liable to pay compensation to suchextentas may be prescribed and to that extent only for loss occasioned by the death ofa passengerdying as a result of such accident, and forpersonal injury and loss, destruction, damage or deterioration of goods owned by the passenger andaccompanying himin his compartment or on the train sustained as a result of such accidentExplanation – For the purpose of this section “Passenger” includes a railwayservant on duty.
Sec: 124A
Compensation on account of untoward incident :-
When in thecourse of working a railway an untoward incident occurs, then whether or not there has been any wrongful act, neglect or default on the part of the the railway administration such as would entitle a passenger who has been injured or the dependent of a passenger who has been killed to maintain an action and recover damages in respect thereof , the railway administration shall , notwithstanding anything contained in any other law , be liable to pay compensation to such extent as may be prescribed and to that extent only for loss occasioned by the death of , or injury to a passenger as a result ofsuch untoward incident .
Provided that no compensation shall be payable under this section by the railway administration if the passenger dies or suffers injury due to :-
a)Suicide or attempted suicide by him :-
b)Self – inflicted injury:-
c)His own Criminal Act :-
d)Any act committed by him in a state of intoxication or insanity :-
e)Any natural cause or disease or medical orsurgical treatment unless such treatment becomes necessary due to injury caused by the said untoward incident ;-
Explanation :-For the purposes of this section “passenger” includes –
i)a railway servant on duty ; and
ii)a person who has purchased a valid ticket for traveling by a train carrying passengers , on any date or a valid platform ticket and becomes a victim of an untoward incident .
