AHMEDABAD: Gujarat high court has ruled that trying to hop on to a moving train, especially when the train has left the station, should be an offence and if a passenger sustains injury while boarding a train in motion, he will not get compensation.
After discussing the issue and provisions of the Railway Claims Tribunal Act in detail, the HC said that an effort to board a passing train, that too while it is in motion, should be an offence. “This aspect can be looked into by the legislation in accordance with law,” the order reads.
The case before the HC was filed by one Pravinbhai Vaghela, a sweeper working with the Public Works Department, who fell while trying to board a moving train on May 27, 2014 in Kalupur railway yard and lost his leg. The tribunal and the high court has denied him compensation under provisions of the railway’s compensation laws.
Vaghela’s case was a bit curious. He is a resident of Kachhi village near Mahemdabad and was a daily commuter between Mahemdabad and Ahmedabad. After his job hours, he boarded a local train to Mahemdabad from Kalupur railway station. The train stopped in Kankaria yard. At the same time, another train – Vadodara Intercity Express was passing by at a slow speed. Thinking that he would reach early if he boarded the express train. He jumped off the local train and tried to board the moving train. He lost balance and met with an accident. Justice J B Pardiwala said of the incident, “It cannot be said that the negligence was an ordinary negligence. How can a passenger even think of deboarding the train and try to get into another train passing by and that too while another train is in motion? The rash and negligent act of trying to board such a train amounts to a criminal negligence. The railways cannot be held liable for the incident in question.”
Representative image 
