The Supreme Court has given a very important and sensitive decision for crores of passengers traveling in Indian Railways. Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice N. The division bench of Kotishwar Singh has raised questions on the old terminology of Railways and ordered to change it. The court has clarified that now the term ‘second class passenger’ will not be used in any government document or colloquial speech of the Railways. The Court believes that human dignity is paramount and calling someone a ‘second class passenger’ on the basis of his ticket category is against the basic spirit of the Constitution.
Class will be decided by the compartment, not by the passenger
The Supreme Court has ordered that in future whenever there will be talk of any class, it will be in the context of ‘coach’ or ‘compartment’ only. The court clearly says that the category of a passenger should not be decided by the amount of money he spends. Now the Railways will have to use the term ‘second class coach’ or ‘second class compartment’ and not address the citizens traveling in that compartment as second class person or passenger.
There is a need for large scale recruitment in Railways for security.
In view of the increasing population and increasing load in trains, the court has expressed concern over the security arrangements of the Railways. The court said that there is a severe shortage of staff in the department to implement the stringent rules of the Railway Manual. The Supreme Court has suggested to the government that the number of security personnel in stations and trains should be immediately increased. According to the court, if in this era of modernization, youth are given employment in Railways on a large scale, then not only will unemployment go away, but people’s lives will also be saved by preventing accidents.
Deceased’s wife got justice, MP High Court’s decision overturned
With this decision, the Supreme Court has given great relief to the wife of the deceased passenger in an 11 year old tragic case. The case is of 28 November 2015, when a person named Chandrakant Thakkar died after falling from a moving train. The Railways had refused to pay compensation on the grounds of non-availability of tickets, which was upheld by the Tribunal and later by the Madhya Pradesh High Court. Expressing displeasure over this, the Supreme Court said that it is natural for the bag to get lost in an accident, in such a situation the wife’s affidavit is enough to confirm the claim. The court has directed the Railways to pay compensation of Rs 8 lakh to the woman along with interest.
Security is not the responsibility of the government alone
At the end of the decision, the Supreme Court has also taken a tough stance regarding heavy crowding in trains and unsafe travel. The court said that the responsibilities are fixed on paper, but the situation on the ground is worrying. Besides this, the court has also appealed to the common citizens not to risk their lives by boarding a moving train or traveling by standing on the footboard of the compartment. Ensuring security is the equal responsibility of the government as well as the public.
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