Munmun Kaur
Published On: January 21, 2022 at 11:50 IST
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on January 20, dismissed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed against the Order of Central Government that renamed the “Habibganj” railway station in Bhopal to “Rani Kamlapati” railway station.
The PIL was filed by one Ahmad Sayeed Qureshi, challenging the Central Government’s Order dated November 12, 2021.
Advocate Vinay Pratap Singh, appearing for the Petitioner submitted that in 1973, one Guru Habeeb Miyan had donated his land to the Railway Department on which the railway station was constructed and therefore, the railway station was rightly named as Habibganj railway station after the name of the donor. He further submitted that the renaming of the railway station to the Rani Kamlapati railway station was done with a mala fide intention to hurt the sentiments of the Muslim community.
A Division Bench of Justices Sheel Nagu and Sunita Yadav observed that the PIL was frivolous and vexatious and consumed the precious time of the Court which could have been utilized in deciding more pressing matters.
The Bench observed, “This court does not perceive any public cause involved in this petition, which appears to have been filed to gain cheap publicity.” It added- the cause of public is served by the quality and quantity of amenities and facilities available at a railway station and in facilitating ease of traveling by train. Therefore, the act of facilitation had nothing to do with the name of the railway station.
The High Court imposed a cost of Rs. 10,000 on the Petitioner which is to be paid in the Registry and directed it to be utilized for purchasing necessary articles and equipment for dealing with the crisis arising out of the third wave of Covid-19 pandemic.