Indian farmer owner of train after winning compensation case against Railways

A farmer in the Indian state of Punjab who had sued the Railways in 2012 for adequate compensation for acquiring his land to build a rail line has now been given ownership of the Express train by the court.

He was also given ownership of the railway station master’s office in Ludhiana.

Sampuran Singh’s land was acquired for the rail line in 2007, and the Railways paid him only Rs 42 lakh. Singh wanted the rail authorities to pay him the rest of the amount of Rs 1.05 crore

The court on Wednesday in their order handed over the Express train named Swarna Shatabdi Express to Singh. The train runs between New Delhi and Amritsar every day.

In January 2015, the court had ordered the Railways to pay him the remaining amount and at the same time enhanced the compensation to Rs 50 lakh per acre.

The present order comes after the Railways failed to pay the amount.

20-coach train

Singh, along with his lawyer, went to the Ludhiana railway station on Wednesday with the court orders, waiting for the 20-coach train to arrive from Delhi. But he let the train to go forward so that the passengers on board were not inconvenienced.

The railways have meanwhile secured an interim order against the court’s decision.

“If they fail to pay the money by Saturday, then the court can sanction an auction,” Singh’s lawyer Rakesh Gandhi told AFP.

Singh’s case has a precedent in the state of Karnataka, where the court had ruled in favor of a farmer in a 2006 compensation case and confiscated an express train.