India, July 29 -- Dhiraj Solanki, 40, was a schoolboy when he fell out of an overcrowded train at Santacruz railway station and lost his right leg. The accident, he says, altered the course of his life. What made it even harder was that the Western Railway had labelled him a "trespasser" illegally crossing railway tracks and, hence, not eligible for compensation.

In a recent order, however, the Bombay High Court said the railway's claim "cannot be believed". The court also enhanced the interest on the Rs.1.90 lakh compensation awarded to Solanki by the Railway Accident Claims Tribunal (RACT) in 2005.

First before RACT and then before the high court, the railway had maintained that Solanki was knocked down by a train at the end of platfo...