Updated: Thu, 23 Oct 2025 10:12 (IST) The Supreme Court has granted compensation to Sanyukta Devi, who lost her husband in a train accident in 2002, after 23 years. The court ordered that the Railways should find them and give compensation to them, as earlier the tribunal and the High Court had dismissed the claim. The court ordered the Railways to pay compensation of Rs 4 lakh with 6% interest. Police and Railways jointly searched for Sanyukta Devi. Digital Desk, New Delhi. The Supreme Court granted justice to Sanyukta Devi, who lost her husband of 23 years in a train accident in 2002. In their struggle to get compensation from the Railways, the Supreme Court not only overturned the wrong decisions but also took unique steps to track them down and provide them with compensation. This is the story of a woman for whose rights the country’s largest court did everything possible. Remove ads just read the news What’s the big deal? On March 21, 2002, Sanyukta Devi’s husband Vijay Singh tried to board the Bhagalpur-Danapur Intercity Express from Bakhtiyarpur to Patna. Despite having a valid ticket, he collapsed and died due to heavy crowding in the train. After this, a legal battle for compensation began, in which the Railway Claims Tribunal and the Patna High Court rejected the claim, stating that Vijay Singh was mentally unsound. What did the Supreme Court say in the decision? Sanyukta appealed to the Supreme Court through her lawyer Fauzia Shakeel. On February 2, 2023, a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant quashed the decisions of the Tribunal and the Supreme Court, calling them absurd and imaginary. The court said that if Vijay Singh was mentally unsound, it would have been impossible for him to buy a ticket and try to board the train. The court ordered the Railways to pay compensation of Rs 4 lakh to Samyukta along with 6% annual interest within two months from the date of filing the claim. But due to the death of his local lawyer, he did not get information about this order. Railways also failed to deliver the compensation due to lack of correct address and expressed its obligation in the Supreme Court. Efforts to find the woman: The bench of Justices Surya Kant, Dipankar Dutta and N Kotiswar Singh took special steps to find Sanyukta. The court directed Eastern Railway to publish public notices in leading Hindi and English newspapers. It mentioned compensation information and submission of necessary documents like Aadhar card and bank account details. Senior superintendent of police of Nalanda and SHO of Bakhtiyarpur police station were asked to trace Sanyukta and inform her about the compensation. Bihar State Legal Services Authority has also been directed to visit his last known address and investigate his condition and submit a report within four weeks. The police traced Sanyukta. Brijendra Chahar, Additional Solicitor General, told the court this month that no letter could reach Sanyukta due to the incorrect name of the town being registered. Due to the hard work of the Railways and the police, the exact village was found and Sanyukta and her family were found. The court ordered the Railways to deposit the compensation amount in Sanyukta’s bank account with the help of the local police. The local SHO was asked to accompany the railway officials and ensure their identity in the presence of the village panchayat sarpanch. The court directed to submit the compliance report and fixed the next hearing of the case on November 24.
Supreme Court took this decision to find the widow, she will get compensation after 23 years with 6% interest – Supreme Court ensures that widow gets compensation from railways after 23 years
