S. KIRAN Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner, an Inspector, Bomb Detection Squad of the Railway Protection Force, Thiruvananthapuram, filed the present writ petition assailing Ext. P4 suspension order passed by the 4th respondent.

(2.) INDIAN Railways has the distinction of being the largest civilian employer in the world, catering to the commuting needs of the Nation, transporting millions of people every day across its crisscrossing networks. Safety of those millions of commuters is in the hands of officers like the petitioner. Though this Court at this juncture would not be inclined to make any observations to the prejudice of the petitioner's cause, the fact, however, remains that the ghastly blasts in Bombay Railway Station and other public places have still been fresh in the minds of the people and the wounds are still green and unhealed in the psyche of the Nation.

(3.) THE petitioner explains away his delayed response, attributing it to hypertension and other related medical problems, which were said to have made him have a deep sleep after 'meditation'. In the words of the petitioner, when he opened the door, the 4th respondent asked him to go for medical examination. When the petitioner enquired about the reason, the 5th respondent is said to have abused him in filthy language and punched him in the abdomen with a sharp edged object like a key. Having been assaulted, the petitioner lodged a complaint with Thampanoor Police station, which in turn registered Ext. P2 crime. The 4th respondent has also lodged a complaint against the petitioner for the offences like assault, which also resulted in the registration of Ext. P3 crime.