Expedite payment of compensation to victims’ kin: HC tells Railways

Sambad English Bureau Published On : Apr 4, 2014 at 10:57 AM Updated On : Apr 4, 2014 at 2:02 PM

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Cuttack, Apr 4:

The Odisha High Court on Thursday directed the Indian Railways to release the payment of compensation to the family of the 14 victims, killed in a tragic accident at an unmanned level-crossing at Khairapally near Sambalpur on August 12, 2012, within four weeks.

NROs celebrate Raja festival in Netherlands

USBM holds HR conference in Bhubaneswar

The court directed the Railways to expedite its work after receiving the legal heir certificates from the victims’ kin and withdraw its review petition that was filed after the court had ordered the Railways to pay adequate compensation to the victims in November 2012.

The directive of the court was issued after a division bench comprising Chief Justice AK Goel and Justice AK Rath took up a contempt petition filed against the Railways by human rights activist and lawyer Prabir Kumar Das.

Appearing for the victims’ families, Das offered his services to cooperate with the Railways in identifying the kin of the deceased and submitting the legal heir certificates of the beneficiaries before the DRM of Sambalpur within a month.

The Railways had agreed to pay Rs 77,44,569 as compensation to the families of all the 14 persons last month. However, it was delayed on the plea that the identities of the victims’ kin are yet to be ascertained.