Can't Interfere In Policy: Gauhati High Court Rejects PIL Claiming Non-Implementation Of 'Kavachh' System By Railways, Lack Of Amenities

The Gauhati High Court recently dismissed a PIL which alleged that Railways have failed to maintain punctuality, safety standards, amenities and service quality on the ground that the grievances in the petition were more in the nature of general policy suggestions and not legally enforceable rights.The division bench comprising the Chief Justice Ashutosh Kumar and Justice Arun Dev Choudhury observed:“At the outset, we note that the petition is bereft of any concrete material particulars or data. Except for bald statements and general assertions, the writ petition does not refer to any specific incident of derailment/accident, identified safety lapse, particularly in any stretch of track, or any statutory violation which would justify exercise of this Court's extra-ordinary jurisdiction.” The Court further noted that PIL is a serious instrument which cannot be founded on sweeping allegations, perceived administrative emergencies, or general grievances about systemic functioning.The petitioner has alleged that the advanced “Kavach”, an automatic train protection system, has not been fully rolled out and that the Railways are prioritising expansion over maintenance, thereby enhancing the risk of derailment and exposing the vulnerable commuters to accident.The Court stated that the policy matters relating to Railway safety protocols, technical deployment of “Kavach” system, allocations of resources, prioritisation of expansion versus maintenance and strategic rollout of various safety measures fall squarely within the domain of special/technical Authorities.“The Courts do not substitute their wisdom for that of competent experts, unless there is a demonstrable arbitrariness, illegality, mala fides and inaction in the face of specific statutory duty,” the Court said.It was highlighted by the Court that there is no averment regarding breach of any statutory rule or any material to show that the Railways have ignored the binding directions for improvement of service or to supervise day-to-day administrations. "Entertaining such petitions would convert this Court into a kind of super-regulatory authority of technical policy; something which has expressly been cautioned against in many cases of the Supreme Court. General governance of a department is not to be carried out through judicial orders on vague demands. On going through this petition, we find that the grievances are more in the nature of general policy suggestion and not of enforceable legal rights", the court said. “The Railways being a public sector undertaking are nevertheless expected to continue upgrading safety systems, modernising infrastructure and deploying protection technology as per expert's assessment and budgetary prioritisation. However, such matters cannot be directed on the basis of an indeterminate/non-evidentiary PIL,” the Court noted.Thus, the Court dismissed the PIL with the liberty to the petitioner to pursue the already filed representation or, if not filed, fresh representations before the competent authority, with specific instances, documentary materials and identifiable legal violations.Case Title: All India Railway Passengers User Facilities Federation v. The Union of India & Anr.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Gau) 75Case No.: PIL/65/2025Click Here To Read/Download Order

Can't Interfere In Policy: Gauhati High Court Rejects PIL Claiming Non-Implementation Of 'Kavachh' System By Railways, Lack Of Amenities

Udit Singh

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