BIRJBASI LAL Vs. EMPEROR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) I referred this question, which came before me in revision, because it seems to me desirable that it should be decided by a Bench of two Judges which might be convened to dispose of the question once for all so far as this Court was concerned. It seemed to me a question of sufficient public importance and one which might give rise to difficulties of interpretation. The question really dealt with by the Magistrate who decided the case, was whether the Railway Authorities were authorised by law to reserve a compartment for a class of passengers in any train, and it was for the decision of that question that I decided to refer the case to a Bench of two Judges. But that question is not really the question raised by this case. The facts are that on the 29th of July of last year one Birjbasi Lal, travelling on the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, wilfully entered a third class compartment in the Up Express, which compartment had been specially reserved by the Railway Authorities for Europeans and Angle Indians only. There were passengers in the compartment who protested. The Assistant Station Master was referred to. Eventually the aid of the Police was called in and Birjbasi Lal was removed. No question as to the legality of the removal has been raised, but the Railway Authorities prosecuted the accused for an offense under Section 109 of the Railways Act, and he was convicted and fined Rs. 10 or to undergo one week s simple imprisonment in default. Now the Sub-Section of Section 109 under which the charge was made and the penalty inflicted, or rather the material parts of it, run as follows: "if a passenger having entered a compartment which is reserved by a Railway Administration for the use of another passenger refuses to leave when required to do so by any Railway servant, he shall be punished with fine."

(2.) The question, therefore, is whether Section 109 provides a penalty for entering a compartment reserved not merely for the use of a particular person or particular named individuals, but for a particular class of persons.

(3.) It is not contended that it does not provide a penalty for the breach of a reservation in favour of a particular individual, or particular named individuals. The power of the Railway Authorities to reserve compartments is not and cannot be seriously disputed. Section 109 clearly confers it by implication. Section 64 makes it even compulsory up to a certain point, in the case of females for a journey of a specified length, and other portions of the Act make it perfectly clear.