A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and CV Bhadang were informed by the Northern Railway that it is willing to give the ex-gratia amount which would be deposited in the high court registry and can be later withdrawn by the victim.
Over five years after a woman lost her legs while trying to stop a thief from snatching her bag in a moving train, the Railways on Monday informed the Bombay High Court that it is willing to pay and ex-gratia of Rs2.80 lakh to the victim.
A division bench of justices Abhay Oka and CV Bhadang were informed by the Northern Railway that it is willing to give the ex-gratia amount which would be deposited in the high court registry and can be later withdrawn by the victim. This indicates that for the first time railways have accepted its shortcomings in provide safe travel to passengers on long distance trains.
The decisions comes after several reprimands by the high court after railways had refused to grant compensation stating that Bhavika Mehta (the victim) could have avoided the accident. The court had then said: "Instead of commending her for her brave act, you (railways) are blaming her for trying to fight back a thief on board a train, are you saying that citizens of India should give into the demands of robbers and thieves."
The court had then pulled up the railways for not providing appropriate security on outstations trains leading to such accidents. The railways had then also taken a stand that while taking a decision on vulnerability of a train, special emphasis and attention shall be given to the trains involving overnight journey. It is also advised that subject to availability of manpower resources, other night trains which do not fall in the category of vulnerable or highly vulnerable will also be escorted by staff of GRP.
Advocate Uday Warunjikar, who appeared for the petitioner Kiran Mehta (father of the victim), said the compensation amount is being deposited after a long drawn legal battle. Bhavika lost her legs while chasing a thief in 2012, on an outstation train.
She had approached the court seeking compensation from the railways for the medical expenses incurred by her after the accident. After repeated orders and directions by the court the railways released the compensation amount to Mehta to the tune of Rs15 lakh.
She was travelling from Amritsar to Mumbai Central in 2012, and was robbed by a thief on board. When she tried to chase him the accused pulled her out from a running train, because of the injuries her legs had to be amputated. Since then she could not take medical aid in a nearby railway/civil hospital, she got herself admitted to a private hospital in Chandigarh and claimed a compensation amount of Rs9 lakh. This was granted to her but later to fit a prosthetic leg an extra of Rs5 lakh was required, which the railways had denied earlier but later reimbursed.
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