The Supreme Court has given a big decision regarding reforms in Indian Railways and safety of passengers. Along with this, the court has also expressed strong objection to the word second class passenger used in railway documents. A bench of Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice N Kotishwar Singh said that considering the background of class division in the country's history, addressing a person in this way is contrary to the basic spirit of the Constitution.
The Supreme Court directed that the category of a passenger should not be determined by the expenses incurred by him but by the coach in which he is travelling. Therefore, in future the category should be mentioned only in the context of coach or compartment rather than passenger. The Supreme Court also commented on issues related to railway security arrangements and passenger convenience.
The court said that more employees are needed to effectively implement many provisions of the Railway Manual. The number of employees working in railway stations and trains will have to be increased significantly. In the era of modernization in the country, employing youth in Railways will not only provide them permanent livelihood, but it will also help in saving the lives of passengers.
The Supreme Court said that considering the background of class division in the history of India, calling a person a second class passenger appears to be contrary to the spirit of the Constitution. Therefore, it would be better to mention the category in terms of coach or compartment rather than passenger. Along with this, the decision of Railway Claim Tribunal and Madhya Pradesh High Court was overturned while giving relief to the wife of the passenger who died due to falling from the train.
The Supreme Court said that merely on the basis that the journey ticket was not received from the deceased, he cannot be considered a non-ticketed passenger. The wife of the deceased had clearly stated in her affidavit that her husband had a valid railway ticket but his bag, in which the ticket was kept, was lost during the accident. The court said that there is no dispute that the deceased were traveling in a train and their death was due to an untoward incident on the railways. The court directed to pay compensation of Rs 8 lakh to the wife along with interest.
