NEW DELHI, Feb 19: Seventeen years after a woman died of fatal injuries afflicted on her by robbers on a running local train in Mumbai, the Supreme Court today directed the Railways to pay Rs 2 lakh to her husband as compensation for failing to respond to her call for help.Thus the court today laid down that the common law duty of taking reasonable care lies upon all the carriers including the railways and incorporates liability for death and/or injury to passengers due to any untoward incident while travelling.The deceased, Shantadevi, a lecturer, was waylaid by robbers on January 3, 1981, while she was travelling alone in a first class ladies compartment, criminally assaulted and robbed of her jewellery before she could reach her destination at Andheri.A badly injured Shantadevi managed to pull the alarm chain but despite ringing of the bell neither the guard nor the motorman stopped the train and she ultimately succumbed to her injuries.The incident had spread panic in the city with most womengiving up wearing jewellery and even mangalsutras. It had also prompted the Railways to fit grills in the windows of ladies and first class compartments of local trains plying in the city.Though Shantadevi's husband, P A Narayanan, made a representation to the chairman, Railway Board, requesting for compensation, it was rejected. He was informed that the liability of the Railways could arise only in case of railway accidents and not where death takes place as the result of an attempted murder in a running train.A division bench comprising Dr A S Anand and Justice S Rejendra Babu while directing the payment of compensation, held that it constituted breach of the common law duty of reasonable care which lay upon all carriers including the Railways. Observing that the ``negligence on the part of the Railway staff was writ large,'' the judges said had the train been stopped and first-aid provided when the alarm chain was pulled, the possibility that the deceased may not have met her death, even after theassault in the course of the robbery, was a possibility which one could not rule out. ``The manner in which the guard and the motorman acted exposes a total casual approach on their part. Because of the failure of those Railway officials a precious life had been lost," the judges said."Here there has been a complete dereliction of duty which resulted in a precious life having been taken away, rendering the guarantee under Article 21 (right to life) of the Constitution illusory," the judges observed."The proof of a fault in this case is strong and the counsel for the Railways has not rightly challenged it either", the judges said.The court held that keeping in view the evidence of the guard and motorman and with a view to do complete justice, it appeared appropriate to award a compensation of Rs 2 lakh for the husband for the death of his wife. The amount which would be in addition to Rs 50,000 already paid by the State government should be given on or before March 31, 1998.
