The Supreme Court has commended the efforts made by Indian Railways in implementing anti-collision systems, including ‘Kavach’, to prevent accidents.
The Bench
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and KV Viswanathan, noting Indian Railways’ measures to avert accidents, disposed of a PIL seeking directions for implementing the domestically developed train protection system.
“We have reviewed the status report submitted by the Attorney General for India. We note that Indian Railways has taken various measures towards installing safety systems, enhancing track quality, training and sensitizing staff, reforming maintenance practices, and developing the Kavach System, a highly technology-intensive system,” the bench stated in its April 15 order.
In its order, the apex court further stated, “We appreciate the aforementioned measures taken by Indian Railways. Consequently, we are satisfied that the initiation of these proceedings in the public interest has served its purpose, and the concerns have been adequately addressed by the Union of India and Indian Railways.”
The bench expressed confidence that Indian Railways will continue to take necessary steps for modernizing the railway system and implementing the ‘Kavach’ system as deemed appropriate by experts.
“We have no reason to doubt that the Union of India/Indian Railways will continue to take the necessary steps for modernizing the Indian Railways and implementing the Kavach system as deemed appropriate by experts. With these observations, the instant writ petition stands disposed of at this stage,” the order further stated.
Previous Hearing
Previously, the Supreme Court had instructed the Attorney General of India, R Venkatramani, to inform the court about the steps taken by the central government for implementing anti-collision systems, including ‘Kavach’.
Advocate Vishal Tiwari had filed a PIL seeking an investigation into the Balasore triple train accident in Odisha by an expert panel headed by a retired Supreme Court judge.
The Balasore train accident, involving two passenger trains and a goods carriage, resulted in over 288 fatalities and more than 1,000 injuries last year.
The PIL urged for guidelines/directions for the immediate implementation of the Automatic Train Protection (ATP) System, known as the ‘Kavach’ protection system, in Indian Railways to ensure public safety.
‘Kavach’ regulates train speed by automatically applying brakes if the loco pilot fails to do so.
“The immediate establishment of an expert commission headed by a retired Supreme Court judge, comprising technical members, to assess and review the current risk and safety parameters in the railway system and recommend systematic safety enhancements to strengthen the railway safety mechanism, submitting its report to this court within two months,” the PIL stated.
The initial report on the tragedy indicated that the three-way accident involved the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express, the Coromandel Express, and a goods train on separate tracks at Bahanaga Bazar Station in Balasore district. Seventeen coaches of the two passenger trains were derailed and severely damaged in the accident.
