What compensation, where is the judge?

MUMBAI: If Jaspal Singh, the aircraft engineer who was pushed out of a running train last week, decides to claim compensation from the railways, he would have a tough task at hand.
First, he would find it difficult to hunt down the Railways Claims Tribunal, tucked as it is in an invisible corner of the hutment-lined P. D’Mello Road. And if he does succeed, he would never be able to find his way to the judge, because there isn’t one.In fact, there has been none for the past five years.
The littleknown singlestoreyed barrack that serves as the Mumbai bench of the tribunal has been disposing of cases in fits and starts, with the help of visiting judges— or vice-chairmen, as they are designated —of other benches.
The Mumbai tribunal has been logging only one week of work every month for the past five years.
Though it is a grievance-redressal mechanism, the office sees little movement during the day. Most tribunal lawyers simply don’t bother to turn up. “There is no point,’’ says C.M. Jha, secretary of the Bar Association of Railways Claims Tribunal, Mumbai.
The tribunal has two members—judicial and technical— who sit together to decide compensation cases. Following a dispute over the appointment of a member, the Delhi high court stayed the appointment of a judicial member in March 1998.
The stay was lifted recently by the supreme court but there has been no new appointment. So, the twomember tribunal has been functioning with a single technical member, whose powers are limited. He can deal only with compensation claims up to Rs 1 lakh.
“Hardly 100 claims fall in this category. Most claims are for more than Rs 1 lakh,’’ says assistant registrar P.K. Gopikumar.While death and permanent disability cases like that of Jayabala Asher can get Rs 4 lakh as compensation, injury cases have a ceiling of Rs 3.6 lakh.
The tribunal, whose jurisdiction covers three-fourths of Maharashtra and entire Goa, deals with three types of cases: train accidents, untoward incidents and goods claims. Track- and level-crossing runovers, or a fall from a running train, come in the second category. And it is this category that forms the bulk of the backlog.
“Goods claims like ticket refunds and train accident victims are entitled to an exgratia payment by the railways. It is only when a commuter is aggrieved by the amount given to him that he approaches us,’’ says a tribunal official.
But for freak victims like Mr Singh who suffer accidents during the journey, the railways offer nothing. They can approach the tribunal for compensation. If they do, they may also end up sharing half the compensation amount with the lawyer, as it appears to be a common practice.
Lawyers say it usually takes about three to six months to dispose of a case. But since five years, the pendency has stretched to years. Cases are cleared as and when judicial members of other benches like Nagpur, Jaipur and Ernakulam —and even the chairperson of the tribunal from Delhi— find time to pitch in.
Currently, the tribunal has cases dating back to 2000. Concerned about the city? Write in to us at: timescitizen@indiatimes.com