Bombay HC notice to Railways over hoardings on its properties

The Bombay High Court Tuesday issued a notice to Indian Railways over its failure to formulate a policy for regulating hoardings installed on its properties and awarding compensation to victims of accidents due to such hoardings.

A bench of Chief Justice Pradeep Nandrajog and Justice NM Jamdar directed the Railways to respond to the notice by August 8.

The court was hearing a suo moto (on its own) Public Interest Litigation (PIL).

In 2014, a Pune-based social activist's PIL had brought to the court's notice the need for a uniform policy on regulation of hoardings installed on Railway properties.

At the time, two persons had died and as many others had sustained serious injuries after a hoarding installed at a railway property fell on them.

The kin of the dead were given Rs 5 lakh each and the injured were awarded a compensation of Rs 1 lakh each by the Railway authorities.

The activist had claimed that such compensation was insufficient.

In 2017, another bench of the high court had asked the Railways if it had taken into consideration factors such as the annual income of the dead persons and the amount spent on treatment to arrive at the compensation figure.

It had also directed that the Railway authorities formulate a uniform policy for awarding compensation to victims of such accidents, and to regulate permissions for installing hoardings on its properties.

On Tuesday, the bench noted that the Railway authorities were yet to implement the court's previous orders.