The Supreme Court sought Centre’s response on steps proposed or already undertaken, including implementation of anti collision system Kavach, to ensure safety of Railway passengers and prevent train accidents. A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and K V Vishwanathan sought a response from Attorney General R Venkatramani within four weeks, acting on a PIL by advocate Vishal Tiwari.
The Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has sought a direction to establish an expert commission led by a retired judge of the Supreme Court to carry out a time-bound investigation into the Odisha train accident on June 2. The train accident claimed the lives of more than 288 people and left thousands injured.
The petitioner asserted that it is necessary to implement the model of Kavach in every rail line and train carrier at the earliest without any technical fault. He added that it is relevant to ask as to why the system was not applied to the trains yet despite the claims. He further demanded direction for analysing and reviewing the current risk and safety parameters in the railway system and to suggest systematic modification for enhancing it.
Advocate Vishal Tiwari’s plea also demanded direction for issuance of guidelines for the implementation of Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system called Kavach in Indian Railways with immediate effect to ascertain public safety.
The petitioner also noted that the Odisha accident showed the deep gross negligence perpetrated by the authorities leading to violation of right to life and liberty of citizens under Article 21 of the Constitution of India.
The plea mentioned that the Odisha train accident involving triple collision of trains caused death of over 288 people and injuries to more than 1000 people. The accident resulted into severe damage to public properties. It received widespread sympathy and condolences from all over the world as it is one of the most massive train accidents in India in the last few decades, the plea underlined.