Mumbai, February 12 "First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you," a quote by American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, was cited by the Bombay High Court while refusing compensation to a man who was intoxicated and injured in a railway accident.
A single bench of Justice Jitendra Jain, in an order passed on Wednesday, a copy of which was made available on Thursday, stated that alcohol ruins everything.
The court dismissed an appeal filed by a city resident challenging a 2014 order of the Railway Claims Tribunal denying him compensation for injuries sustained at a railway platform.
It said the applicant was ineligible for relief because the injury was caused by an act committed while intoxicated.
"Alcohol ruins everything – physical and mental health, relationships, causes family breakdown, social dysfunction, career disruption, and has severe long-term consequences," the HC stated in its order.
"I am reminded of this quote by F. Scott Fitzgerald: 'First you take a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes you'," Justice Jain said.
The applicant, a lab assistant at Bombay Hospital, claimed that around midnight on March 10, 2001, he was waiting at the Marine Lines station to board a train when he was struck by an approaching train.
He was initially taken to GT Hospital and later transferred to Bombay Hospital, where it was reported that he had consumed a large amount of liquor.
The HC order noted that the incident was "unfortunate" and, therefore, justified compensation.
"When a person is so heavily intoxicated, their act of standing close to the edge of the platform would constitute an offense under Section 124A of the Railways Act, which prohibits compensation if the person is intoxicated," the HC said.