‘Railway Lines Cannot Be Allowed To Be Criss-Crossed And Trespassed At Every Point’: Patna High Court Dismisses PIL Seeking Level Crossing

Dismissing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking a direction to the Railways to provide a level crossing facility between K.M. 14.10 and K.M. 14.11 on the Sugauli-Raxaul Railway line near Ramgarhwa Railway Station, the Patna High Court said it is not feasible for the Railways to provide level crossing at every spot where a road crosses the railway line.

The division bench of Chief Justice K. Vinod Chandran and Justice Madhuresh Prasad further said that in fact, if blockade is created it would effectively prevent trespass and protect the villagers from loss of life due to collision by a running train.

“We are not convinced that any direction, as sought for in the writ petition, can be granted. The railway lines which also provide the means of transport to the traveling public cannot be allowed to be criss-crossed and trespassed at every point where there is a road crossing the rail track or in the alternative, the rail track crossing the road,” said the court.

It further said that even if the railway track was laid across the road there was no requirement for a crossing to be provided at the specific location pointed out by the petitioners. It has also come out in the counter affidavit that just less than half a kilometer away there is a level crossing provided, the court noted.

In the PIL, the petitioners argued that the proposed level crossing would ensure safe crossing of the railway line by numerous villagers around the railway track.

Advocate Shashi Bhushan Kumar Manglam, the counsel for the petitioners, referred to a map that depicted a road passing through the railway line. He contended that the road existed on revenue maps even before independence, while the railway line was constructed later. The court was told that there is a proposal to disconnect the access through the road by providing blockade on both sides of the railway track.

The Railways in response acknowledged that there is no railway crossing between Sugauli and Ramgarhwa at K.M. 14/10-11. However, it told the court that unauthorized trespassing by villagers had been observed, posing significant risks to their safety.

It was further submitted that efforts were made to keep out the unauthorized trespass, however due to the agitation and protest of the villagers, the work of closure could not be carried out. The counter affidavit also mentioned that there already exists a level crossing approximately 456 meters away from the portion where there is unauthorized trespass.

Case Title: Ram Bahadur Pandey and Ors vs. Union of India and Ors Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.11315 of 2021

Appearance:

For the Petitioner/s: Mr. Shashi Bhushan Kumar Manglam, Advocate

For the Respondent/s: Dr. Krishna Nandan Singh, ASG

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