SMT. USHA DEVI AND ORS vs UNION OF INDIA

Judgment text excerpt

* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Reserved on : 29.01.2026 Pronounced on : 26.02.2026 Uploaded on : 26.02.2026 + FAO 112/2021 SMT. USHA DEVI AND ORS .....Appellants Through: Mr. Rajan Sood, Ms. Ashima Sood, Ms. Megha Sood, Advocates. versus UNION OF INDIA .....Respondent Through: None. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR OHRI JUDGMENT 1. The present appeal is filed under Section 23 of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987, assailing the judgment/order passed by the Railway Claims Tribunal, Principal Bench, Delhi titled as ‘Smt. Usha Devi & Ors. v. Union of India’. 2. Vide the judgment dated 21.05.2019 in Case no. OA- IIu/GZB/2017/144, the Tribunal dismissed the claim application on the ground that the deceased was not proved to be a bona fide passenger and that the alleged incident was not an “untoward incident” as defined under Section Signature Not Verified Digitally Signed By:NIJAMUDDEEN ANSARI Signing Date:26.02.2026 18:23:15 FAO 112/2021 Page 1 of 6 123(c)(2) of the Railways Act, 1987 (hereinafter referred to as “Act”). Subsequently, a review application was filed by the claimant which came to be dismissed vide order dated 20.12.2019 in Review/GZB/2019/15/OA/GZB on the grounds that the absence of counsel due to strike and the alleged improper appreciation of evidence did not constitute an error warranting review, and that the remedy available to the appellants was to prefer an appeal before the appropriate forum. 3. Vide order dated 29.01.2026, this Court noted that there was no representation on behalf of the respondent for the last few dates, and in this backdrop, the Court proceeded to hear arguments on behalf of the appellants. 4. Briefly stated, the facts of the case, as set out by the appellants, are that on 09.03.2017, one Amrendra Sharma (herei