Taking suo moto cognisance of a recent rail mishap where a teenage girl lost her arms after she fell from a local train in suburban Ghatkopar station, the Bombay High Court issued notices to the Union Railway Ministry and General Managers of both Central and Western Railways.
Monica More (16) had on January 11 slipped while trying to board a local train at Ghatkopar station and fell in the gap between the platform and train footboard onto the tracks. She lost both her arms in the accident, bringing to fore the huge risk faced by lakhs of suburban train commuters due to the unmanageable rush during peak hours.
A division bench of Chief Justice Mohit Shah and Justice M S Sanklecha today took cognisance of the issue and directed the Railway Ministry, general managers of Western and Central Railway, Chairman of the Railway Board and Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation Ltd (MVRC) to file replies by February 13.
Earlier this week, Union Minister Milind Deora, who is an MP from Mumbai South constituency, had drawn the attention of Rail Minister Malikarjun Kharge on the issue, urging him to take serious steps for safety of rail passengers in the city.
“The huge gap between the platform and the footboard of the train makes the process (of boarding and alighting train in rush hours) even more risky and there are already several tragic instances of people losing life and limb on this account,” Deora said in a letter to Kharge.
“I urge upon you to take steps urgently to prevent recurring of such incidents in future,” he added.
