STATE OF MADHYA PRADESH Vs. RANJIT KUMAR CHATARJEE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) RESPONDENT Ranjitkumar Chatarjee was the Assistant Station Master at fatehabad at the material time. Respondent Yeshwantrao was the pointsman then. Both of them were charged separately under Section 101 of the Railways Act for transgression of Rule S. R. 37 (2) and Rule 52 of General Rules for the Indian railways respectively. Yeshwantrao was also charged under Sections 304-A and 337 I. P. C, The driver of the train coming from Ujjain to Fatehabad Mr. Anthony was also prosecuted along with them. All the three accused were acquitted by the additional District Magistrate Railway Lands, Indore. The State preferred appeal against this order of acquittal. At the preliminary hearing the appeal against anthony was dismissed by the order dated 23-7-1958. The present appeal relates to the remaining two accused.

(2.) THE incident for which they were prosecuted occurred at Fatehabad Railway station in the morning of 2-1-1956 when the passenger-train running between ujjain and Mhow and driven by Mr. Anthony collided against the passenger train bound for Ratlam which was standing at the Fatehabad Railway Station by the station Platform i. e. on line No. 1, The two engines collided against each other with consequent damage to the passenger bogies resulting in the death of two of the passengers and injuries to seventeen.

(3.) THE admitted facts anterior to the accident were that accused Ranjitkumar chatarjee received charge from Mr. Joseph another Assistant Station Master on duty upto 6 P. M. on 2-1-1956 at that time. He called Pointsmen Abdulgani and yeshwantrao and directed Yeshwantrao to set up the point with the aid of keys nos. 1 and 4 given to him so as to receive 435 UP on line No. 3. Yeshwantrao set the line as directed and brought back key No. 3 which comes out on applying key no. 4 at the locking point. It is also beyond doubt that the point thus set was interfered with and the line was reset in such a way that 435 UP would get on to line No. 11 instead of line No. 3 even when the main from Indore side namely 448 down was standing on line No. 1. It is also clear that the signal for receiving 435 up in the station yard was given and this brought in that train on line No. 1.