The Supreme Court has expressed satisfaction with the steps taken by the Indian Railways towards the installation of the 'Kavach' anti-collision system in trains and subsequently disposed of a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions for the implementation of the indigenous train protection system.

On perusal of a status report filed by Attorney General for India (AGI) R. Venkataraman, the Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice KV Viswanathan said, "We find that multiple steps towards installation of safety systems, improving quality of tracks, training and sensitization of staff, reforms in maintenance practices, and development of the Kavach System, which is a highly technology intensive system, have been initiated."

"We appreciate the above-mentioned steps taken by the Indian Railways. That being so, we are satisfied that the initiation of these proceedings in public interest has achieved the purpose and the issues have been adequately addressed by the Union of India and the Railways," the Bench said.

Consequently, the Court ordered, "We have no reason to doubt that the Union of India/Indian Railways will continue to take the desired steps for modernization of the Indian Railways and for implementation of the Kavach system in a manner as may be found appropriate by the experts. With these observations, the instant writ petition stands disposed of at this stage."

The 'Kavach' system is designed to control the speed of the train by automatically applying brakes if the loco pilot fails to do so. It also intervenes if the loco pilot ignores signals or exceeds speed limits, aiding train operations during adverse weather conditions and dense fog. Additionally, it halts the train automatically upon detecting another train on the same track within a specified distance.

The petitioner-in-person, Vishal Tiwari, had urged the Court to intervene, citing the significant loss of life in rail accidents each year. Tiwari emphasized the urgent need for the Court to issue directives for the implementation of the 'Kavach' system. The PIL, raised issues regarding safety and protection measures with respect to the train accidents in India. It pointed out that the Government of India has approved the Kavach System to prevent train accidents. However, the PIL stated that Kavach system has yet not been implemented.

Cause Title: Vishal Tiwari v. Union of India & Ors.

Appearance:-

Respondents: R Venkataramani, Attorney General for India, Amrish Kumar (AOR), Advocates Raman Yadav, Chitvan Singhal, Kartikay Aggaerwal, Abhishek Kumar Pandey, Sonali Jain, T.S Sabarish

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Justice Surya KantJustice KV ViswanathanIndian Railways

Sukriti Mishra