The Railway Claims Tribunal Act, 1987

(1) This Act may be called the Railway ClaimsTribunal Act, 1987. (2) It extends to the whole of India. (3) It shall come into force on such date1as the Central Government may, by notification, appoint.

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,-- (a) "application" means an application made under section 16; (b) "appointed day" means the date1 with effect from which the Claims Tribunal is establishedunder section 3; (c) "Bench" means a Bench of the Claims Tribunal; (d) "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Claims Tribunal; (e) "Claims Tribunal" means the Railway Claims Tribunal established under section 3; (f) "Judicial Member" means a Member of the Claims Tribunal appointed as such under this Act,and includes the Chairman or Vice-Chairman who possesses any of the qualifications specified insub-section (3) of section 5; (g) "Member" means a Member (whether Judicial or Technical) of the Claims Tribunal, andincludes the Chairman and Vice-Chairman; (h) "notification" means a notification published in the Official Gazette; (i) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules; (j) "Railways Act" means the Indian Railways Act, 1890 (9 of 1890); (k) "rules" means rules made under this Act; (l) "Technical Member" means a Member of the Claims Tribunal who is not a Judicial Member,and includes the Chairman or a Vice-Chairman who possesses any of the qualifications specified insub-section (4) of section 5; (m) "Vice-Chairman" means a Vice-Chairman of the Claims Tribunal. Explanation.--References to the Vice-Chairman in this Act shall be construed as references toeach of the Vice-Chairman; 2[(n) "untoward incident" shall have the meaning assigned to it in clause (c) of section 123 of theRailways Act, 1989;] 3[(o)] words and expressions used and not defined in this Act but defined in the Railways Act orthe rules made thereunder shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in that Act or thesaid rules.

The Central Government shall, by notification,establish a Claims Tribunal, to be known as the Railway Claims Tribunal, to exercise the jurisdiction,powers and authority conferred on it by or under this Act 1[and under Chapter VII of the RailwaysAct,1989 (24 of 1989).]

(1) The Claims Tribunal shall consistof a Chairman, four Vice-Chairmen and such number of Judicial Members and Technical Members as theCentral Government may deem fit and, subject to the other provisions of this Act, the jurisdiction, powersand authority of the Claims Tribunal may be exercised by Benches thereof. (2) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, a Bench shall consist of one Judicial Member and oneTechnical Member. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Chairman-- (a) may, in addition to discharging the functions of the Judicial Member or the Technical Memberof the Bench to which he is appointed, discharge the functions of the Judicial Member or, as the casemay be, the Technical Member, of any other Bench; (b) may transfer a Vice-Chairman or other Member from one Bench to another Bench; (c) may authorise the Vice-Chairman or the Judicial Member or the Technical Member appointedto one Bench to discharge also the functions of the Vice-Chairman or, as the case may be, the JudicialMember or the Technical Member of another Bench. (4) Notwithstanding anything contained in the foregoing provisions of this section, it shall becompetent for the Chairman or any other Member authorised by the Chairman in this behalf to function asa Bench consisting of a single Member and exercise the jurisdiction, powers and authority of the ClaimsTribunal in respect of such classes of cases or such matters pertaining to such classes of cases as theChairman may, by general or special order, specify: Provided that if at any stage of the hearing of any such case or matter, it appears to the Chairman orsuch Member that the case or matter is of such a nature that it ought to be heard by a Bench consisting oftwo Members, the case or matter may be transferred by the Chairman or, as the case may be, referred tohim for transfer, to such Bench as the Chairman may deem fit. (5) Subject to the other provisions of this Act, the Benches shall sit at such places as the CentralGovernment may, by notification, specify.

(1) Aperson shall not be qualified for appointment as the Chairman unless he-- (a) is, or has been, a Judge of a High Court; or (b) has, for at least two years, held the office of a Vice-Chairman. (2) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as the Vice-Chairman unless he-- (a) is, or has been, or is qualified to be, a Judge of a High Court; or (b) has been a member of the Indian Legal Service and has held a post in Grade I of that Serviceor any higher post for at least five years; or (c) has, for at least five years, held a civil judicial post carrying a scale of pay which is not lessthan that of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India; or (d) has, for at least five years, held a post under a railway administration carrying a scale of paywhich is not less than that of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India and has adequateknowledge of rules and procedure of, and experience in, claims and commercial matters relating torailways; or (e) has, for a period of not less than three years, held office as a Judicial Member or a TechnicalMember. (3) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Judicial Member unless he-- (a) is, or has been, or is qualified to be, a Judge of a High Court; or (b) has been a Member of the Indian Legal Service and has held a post in Grade I of that Servicefor at least three years; or (c) has, for at least three years, held a civil judicial post carrying a scale of pay which is not lessthan that of a Joint Secretary to the Government of India. (4) A person shall not be qualified for appointment as a Technical Member unless he has, for at leastthree years, held a post under a railway administration carrying a scale of pay which is not less than thatof a Joint Secretary to the Government of India and has adequate knowledge of rules and procedure of,and experience in, claims and commercial matters relating to railways. (5) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (6), the Chairman, Vice-Chairman and every otherMember shall be appointed by the President. (6) No appointment of a person as the Chairman shall be made except after consultation with theChief Justice of India.