MP High Court Junks PIL Against Move To Rename Habibganj Rly Station After Rani Kamlapati With 10K Cost

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday dismissed a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) plea filed against the recent decision of the Centre to rename Habibganj station (in Bhopal) after 18th Century Gond Queen, Rani Kamalapati.

The bench of Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Sunita Yadav also saddled the petitioner, Ahmad Sayeed Quresi with a fine of Rs. 10,000/- as it noted that it was a frivolous and vexatious piece of litigation.

Essentially, the petitioner had raised the alleged public cause that the name of 'Habibganj' Railway Station had been wrongly changed to 'Rani Kamlapati' Railway Station and, therefore he prayed that the renaming order of November 12, 2021, be quashed.

It was submitted by the counsel for the petitioner that in the year 1973, one Guru Habeeb Miyan had donated his land to the Railway Department on which the said Railway Station was constructed and thus, it was argued, the station was rightly named after the said donor as 'Habibganj' Railway Station.

It was submitted that with mala fide intention and to hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community, the name of the Railway Station had been changed to 'Rani Kamlapati' Railway Station.

Reliance was placed on various provisions of the Constitution to raise the bogey of equal protection of all communities under the Constitution to further his cause against the change of name of the Railway Station.

However, the Court failed to comprehend as to how the name of a particular Railway Station would lead to furtherance of public cause.

"The cause of public is served by the quality and quantity of amenities and facilities available at a Railway Station so as to facilitate the ease of travelling by train. This act of facilitation has nothing to do with the name of a particular Railway Station," the Court noted.

Further, stressing that the plea had been to gain cheap publicity, the Court observed that it consumed the precious time of this Court, which could have been utilized in hearing & deciding more pressing matters.

Therefore, the court concluded that the petitioner deserved to be saddled with a cost of Rs.10,000/- to be paid by the petitioner within 30 days in the Registry to be utilized for purchasing necessary articles & equipment for dealing with the crisis arising out of the third wave of Covid19 pandemic.

It may be noted that the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi had inaugurated the newly-revamped Rani Kamlapati Railway Station, earlier known as Habibganj Railway Station, on November 15, 2021.

The redeveloped Rani Kamalapati Railway station, named after brave and fearless Queen Kamalapati of the Gond kingdom, is the first world-class railway station in Madhya Pradesh.

Rani Kamlapati was the Gond queen of the region in the 18th century and she was the last Hindu queen of Bhopal, as her kingdom was usurped by Afghan commander Dost Mohammed by deceit.

Case title - AHMAD SAYEED QURESI Vs UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS
Case Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (MP) 7

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