A fall while deboarding is an untoward incident absent proof of deliberate jumping.

The appellants’ case was that Deependra had purchased a ticket from Mainpuri to Anand Vihar and was travelling on Train No. 14151 when he was found dead near Maripat Railway Station on 26 August 2018.

The Railway Claims Tribunal dismissed the claim, holding that the deceased was not proved to be a bona fide passenger and that his death did not result from an untoward incident.

The appellants challenged that decision, relying on the father’s testimony and contemporaneous railway records; the Railways relied on the non-recovery of a ticket and a DRM report suggesting that the deceased had attempted to get off the moving train.

1. Whether the deceased was a bona fide passenger despite no ticket being recovered from him.

2. Whether the deceased’s death resulted from an accidental fall constituting an “untoward incident,” or from conduct attracting an exception to the Railways’ liability.

Section 123(c)(2) of the Railways Act, 1989 includes the accidental falling of a passenger from a train within the definition of an “untoward incident”; exclusion from the Railways’ statutory liability must be supported by material establishing a recognised exception under Section 124-A.

Under Union of India v. Rina Devi, (2019) 3 SCC 572, non-recovery of a ticket does not, by itself, negate bona fide passenger status; the claimant may discharge the initial burden through relevant facts and circumstances, after which the burden shifts to the Railways.

The Court also relied on Lata v. Union of India, 2026 INSC 715, and Sukhabhai Nanjibhai Makwana & Anr. v. Union of India, 2026 INSC 1056, for the principles that claims are assessed on a preponderance of probabilities and that ticket non-recovery alone does not defeat a claim where the claimant’s evidence is not rebutted.

The father’s testimony that he had purchased a ticket for the deceased was not nullified by his inability to identify the train number or confirm that he saw the deceased board; it had to be assessed with the surrounding circumstances and the contemporaneous record linking the deceased to Train No. 14151.

The Railways produced no cogent evidence that the deceased was travelling without a ticket, and non-recovery of the ticket was not determinative.

As to the manner of death, the constable’s statement that the deceased had “fallen down while deboarding” did not establish a deliberate jump, and the absence of a scheduled stop at Maripat did not, by itself, prove such conduct.

The contemporaneous panchanama and initial information recorded a fall from the train; the later DRM report was insufficient to displace that record or establish an exception to liability.

It set aside the Tribunal’s judgment, allowed the appeal, and remanded the matter to the Tribunal to assess compensation and direct its disbursement within two months of receiving the order; the matter was directed to be listed before the Tribunal on 30 November 2026.