Mahima
Madras High Court has refused to direct Southern Railway to wholly resume short regular passenger services and suburban trains operations considering the rapid rise in Covid-19 infections across the State.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy noted that the Covid-19 cases are rising across the country but it is not as alarming in the State. It emphasized,
“The figure is now the same as how it was during December or January. Even the full reopening of courts for physical functioning that was earlier decided has been stopped except for hearing urgent matters”.
The petition was filed by advocate Ramkumar Adityan seeking complete resumption of short regular passenger services and suburban trains operations in Chennai,
“Most of the passenger and suburban train users prefer other modes of transport like two-wheelers, autos, cars and buses. This results in huge crowds in other modes of transport. Passengers are spending heavily to travel in other modes of transport”.
The court after studying the submissions of the petitioner, observed,
“Distancing protocol may not be possible even if the services are resumed and along with crowding it will be a problem. It is for the railway authorities to seek expert advice on how far railways can be reopened and courts don’t have the requisite expertise in such matters”.