A Maharashtra Magistrate has issued a show-cause notice to the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Nanded Division, asking why contempt proceedings should not be initiated for allegedly failing to comply with directions to replace sofas and undertake pest control at the VIP room of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar railway station.
The Judicial Magistrate (Railways), Aurangabad, in a letter issued last week, observed that it appeared that the sofas in the VIP room had still not been replaced despite an earlier direction.
The Magistrate noted that several judges of the Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad Bench frequently travel by train and use the VIP room while waiting for their trains.
The letter described the condition of the room as a “very disgusting position” and noted that the High Court judges were being forced to sit in their cars instead of using the VIP room because of the condition of the sofas.
The Magistrate further observed that the Railways had neither taken “satisfactory action” on the earlier communication nor responded to it.
The failure to comply was described as being in “blatant disrespect to the direction of the Judicial Officer, which is contemptuous” and as having caused inconvenience to the High Court judges.
The DRM has now been directed to show cause as to why action under the Contempt of Courts Act should not be initiated.
The Magistrate has also directed the DRM to remain personally present before the court on September 30.
The issue dates back to May, when the Judicial Magistrate (Railways), Aurangabad, had written to the DRM directing pest-control measures at the VIP room of the railway station.
The direction followed an incident in which two Bombay High Court judges reportedly noticed bedbugs in the sofas at the VIP room and brought the issue to the attention of the railway authorities.
The Magistrate’s subsequent communication indicates that, despite the earlier direction, the sofas had allegedly not been replaced and the Railways had not provided a satisfactory response regarding the action taken.
The latest communication has now put the DRM on notice of possible contempt proceedings for non-compliance with the earlier judicial direction.
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