The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by social activist Samir Zaveri who lost his legs in a railway accident.
To ensure that railway accident victims are provided immediate medical attention during the ‘golden hour’ (within one hour of an accident), the Bombay high court (HC) asked the railways and the Maharashtra government to sort out their differences over transporting victims to the nearest hospital. It has been established that getting a victim to a hospital within the golden hour gives him/her a high chance of survival.
The court was hearing a contempt petition filed by social activist Samir Zaveri who lost his legs in a railway accident. Zaveri filed the petition since the railways failed to comply with the HC’s directions in connection with his public interest litigation (PIL) regarding commuters’ safety. The petition sought jail for chief commissioner of railways, general manager of Western Railway and officers of the railway board.
Earlier, during the PIL hearing, the railways and the government passed the buck to each other while addressing the question of whose responsibility it was to make ambulances available at railway stations. The railways had written to the government in June 2011 saying that it should provide ambulances like other state governments do. However, the government said in court that taking victims to hospital was the duty of the railways.
In 2004, the HC gave the railways several directions. One of them was that the rail accident victims should be shifted immediately to the nearest public or private hospital. However, several of these directives have not been implemented fully. l Turn to p4
Amicus curie (friend of court), Advocate Jamshed Mistry, told the court that it was necessary to take up three issues on a priority basis. They were: transportation of victims, removal of dangerous poles near tracks and updating the railways website with details of accident victims.
Suresh Kumar, advocate for the railways, said that it had prepared a form to register accident victims’ details. He said the railways’ technical team was working on updating the website and this will be completed by mid-January with help from the Government Railway Police (GRP).
The HC asked that a meeting be held between railways and the authorities concerned (government and GRP) along with the advocates to resolve all issues.
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