Death while boarding: Gujarat HC rejects Railways ‘no ticket’ defence, upholds aid to family
Dismissing an appeal of the Indian Railways against the compensation on the ground that the deceased had "no ticket" to board the train he slipped under, the HC said that the absence of a ticket could not defeat a legitimate claim under the law.
3 min readVadodaraUpdated: Apr 26, 2026 04:01 AM IST
The HC, however, found that the circumstances—tight timing between trains and prior valid travel—made it unreasonable to deny his status as a legitimate passenger. (File Photo)
In a ruling that underscores the risks faced by passengers navigating through crowded railway platforms to switch between trains, the Gujarat High Court has upheld the compensation awarded by the Railway Claims Tribunal to the kin of a migrant worker from West Bengal, who died while attempting to board a train during a one-minute platform transfer window at Ahmedabad station in June 2024.
Dismissing an appeal of the Indian Railways against the compensation on the ground that the deceased had “no ticket” to board the train he slipped under, the HC said that the absence of a ticket could not defeat a legitimate claim under the law.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, Justice JC Doshi of the Gujarat HC rejected the argument put forth by the railways that the victim was not a “bona fide passenger” since no ticket for the second leg of his journey could be recovered. The railways had also submitted that the CCTV footage showed the victim boarding a moving train. The HC, however, found that the circumstances—tight timing between trains and prior valid travel—made it unreasonable to deny his status as a legitimate passenger.
The appeal was filed by the general manager of the Railways, challenging the judgement and order dated August 12, 2025, of the Railway Claims Tribunal, Ahmedabad Bench, which had awarded a claim of Rs 8 lakh to the kin of the Amalkumar Dey.
As per the facts of the case, an incident had occurred on June 3, 2024, when Dey—who had arrived on Platform no. 3 of the Ahmedabad railway station from Shalimar (West Bengal)—was trying to catch a connecting train to Gandhidham from Ahmedabad that was departing Platform no. 4.
The HC, in its judgment, noted that the train from Shalimar had arrived on Platform no. 3 around 9:21 am, while the train from Platform no. 4 was leaving the station around 9.22 am. The Railways, in its submission before the HC, emphasised the fact that the deceased had not bought a ticket for the train departing Platform no. 4 and had also been captured in the CCTV footage boarding a running train.
The HC held that the circumstances—tight timing between trains and prior valid travel—made it unreasonable to deny his status as a legitimate passenger. The judgment stated, “…within a gap of one minute, the deceased (had to go to another platform)… The deceased completed his travel from Platform no. 3 to Platform No. 4 and … (he had) already boarded Indore-Gandhidham Weekly SF Express, but due to jerk and jolt, he fell in the gap between the train and the platform…which ultimately resulted in his death…”
Citing Supreme Court precedents, the HC reiterated that compensation claims under the Railways Act were governed by the principle that mere technical irregularities or lapses in procedure should not defeat a legitimate claim under the welfare law like the Railways Act, 1989.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
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