Himachal HC quashes FIR against Shimla councillor over railway safety concerns

The Himachal Pradesh High Court (HC) has quashed the FIR registered under Section 153 of the Railways Act, 1989 against Diwakar Dev Sharma, an elected councillor of Ward No. 7 of the Municipal Corporation, Shimla. The court also set aside all consequential proceedings, including the notice issued on February 28, 2021, by the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Shimla.

The petition was filed by the councillor seeking quashing of criminal proceedings initiated on allegations of endangering railway safety.

The case arose from a project involving the laying of a sewerage and drainage pipeline alongside the railway track between Tara Devi and Jutogh stations. The Shimla MC had obtained prior approval from the railway authorities, including the Senior Divisional Engineer, Northern Railway, Ambala Cantt, after depositing the requisite charges.

As per the sanctioned plan, the pipeline was to be laid parallel to the railway track using the clamping method, with a designated crossing through the cut-and-cover method under a traffic block. However, discrepancies were allegedly noticed during execution. The railway authorities claimed that deviations from the approved plan had occurred and that an electric pole had been erected close to the railway line, allegedly posing a safety risk. On this basis, a criminal case under Section 153 of the Railways Act — relating to acts endangering the safety of persons travelling by rail — was registered against the petitioner and two officials of the executing agency.

Justice Sandeep Sharma observed that the petitioner, being an elected councillor, had merely raised the issue of laying the sewerage line in public interest. The work, the court noted, had been duly sanctioned by the railway authorities and was executed by the agency concerned under railway supervision. “There is no material on record to suggest that the petitioner personally indulged in any unlawful act or wilful omission endangering railway safety,” the court held.

The HC further noted that no complaint had been lodged by any passenger and that there was no evidence to show that the erection of the electric pole had actually endangered railway safety.

Holding that the essential ingredients of Section 153 of the Railways Act were not made out against the petitioner, the court said continuation of the criminal proceedings would subject him to an unnecessary trial, which was likely to end in acquittal.