STATE Vs. DARSHAN SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) FOUR persons, accused respondent No. 1, Darshansingh, Shunting Master at the Bhopal Railway Station, accused -respondent No. 2, Akbar Ali, points -man at that station, Ramlal and Hajuri, who were working as what is known as Hooksmen at the relevant time, were prosecuted for disobedience of instructions for loose shunting, contained in subsidiary rules 147 -1 (a), 148 -1 and 152 -1 (a), made under the Railways Act, whereby safety of persons was endangered, and thereby committing offence punishable under Section 101, Railways Act. They were also charged with offence under section 304 -A, Indian penal Code, in respect of death of a Coolie, Rupsingh, who was said to have died as a result of an accident occasioned by such disobedience. All the four accused persons were acquitted by the trial Court. The State has come up in appeal against the acquittal of two only, viz, Darshansingh, the shunting master, and Akbarali, the points -man.

(2.) THE accused -respondent No. 1, Darshansingh, was, on 12 -2 -1958, working as shunting master at the down yard of the Bhopol Railway Station. He had been entrusted the work of forming a goods train on siding No. 2 The sketch, Ex. P -4, shows the position of the sidings. There are seven tracks of sidings, which terminate in a dead end at one end, and at the other converge into what may be termed the parent line At the spot, where these sidings converge, there is a ground frame with levers, which, when put in a desired position, set the point for moving a wagon on to a particular siding

(3.) THE operation that was being carried out is what is called "loose shunting", that is, a wagon on the parent line is given a push by the engine and it travels by the momentum so imparted, to the point from where the sidings diverge, and passing over the point, travels to a particular siding for which the point is set. Ramlal and Hajuri were working as hooks -men. One of them was to operate the brake handle when the wagon was loose shunted, and the other was to do coupling.