The Chhattisgarh High Court has recently disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding the alleged illegal drilling of locomotive axles, which posed a potential threat to the safety of railway passengers.
The court took suo motu cognizance of the matter and directed the Divisional Railway Manager, South East Central Railway, Raipur, to file a personal affidavit.
In response, the Divisional Railway Manager filed an affidavit stating that an expert committee was formed to investigate the matter.
The committee’s report revealed that all axle maintenance works were carried out in accordance with the guidelines provided by the Research, Design and Standards Organization (RDSO), and no locomotives at the Electric Loco Shed, Bhilai, had undergone drilling in violation of the RDSO rules.
The affidavit further stated that the maintenance practices and records of the locomotive mentioned in the petition were checked, and no abnormalities were found.
The axle in question was not in service for the last three years.
The Railway administration assured that they were following the RDSO guidelines strictly, with utmost care for safe operation of locomotives.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Ravindra Kumar Agrawal, taking into consideration the affidavit and report submitted by the Divisional Railway Manager, disposed of the PIL with the hope and trust that the railway authorities would take all necessary precautions with respect to the issues raised in the petition.
The security money deposited by the petitioner was ordered to be refunded.
The post Chhattisgarh High Court disposes of PIL against locomotive axle drilling appeared first on India Legal.