Central Government has stated that - “The Ministry has followed the Principles of Natural Justice by giving adequate opportunity and hearing to the legitimate grievances of the petitioners” The following points are mentioned as reply to the above declaration. The points mentioned below are without meaning any offence or comment on the conduct of the designated officers dealing with this case in the Government. This reply is necessary because otherwise the Government will continue to do unjustice to the people of India in the veil of Natural Justice. The following decisions and facts in our opinion go a long way to explode of myth of Principles of Natural Justice as understood by Government in the Ministry of Railways. Natural justice or procedural fairness is a legal philosophy used in some jurisdictions in the determination of just, or fair, processes in legal proceedings. Natural justice operates on the principles that man is basically good and therefore a person of good intent should not be harmed, and one should treat others as one would like to be treated. “Natural Justice‟ imposes a code of fair procedure, including the right to be given a fair hearing and the opportunity to present one’s case, the right to have a decision made by an unbiased or disinterested decision maker and the right to have that decision based on logically probative evidence. Natural justice in essence could just be referred to as “Procedural Fairness‟, with a purpose of ensuring that decision-making is fair and reasonable. The principles of Natural Justice are a part of the legal and judicial procedures and it comprises of two concepts, namely- (a) Audi alteram partem, or the right to fair hearing (b) Nemo judex in sua causa, or the no man can be a judge in his own cause (Ref: From the Selected Works of Mubashshir Sarshar: January 2008 -NATURAL JUSTICE AND ITS APPLICATIONS IN ADMINISTRATIVE LAW) In this case Shri Madhukumar Reddy, Executive Director Passenger Marketing, Railway is an officer who personally went to Addl. Solocitor General in 2011 to convince him and made him agree to his decision to apply for condonation of delay in filing application in Hon. Supreme Court after the case was dismissed in January, 2010. This officer gives direction to this RTSA case, approves notings for submissions to Member Traffic, Railway Board and Minister of Railways. He is also Government Director on the Board of IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation). He is the person who takes policy decisions and gives approval on various proposals of IRCTC. He is the Govt. officer who signed the notification regarding E-ticketing issued on 7.5.2014. He is the officer who represented this case before the Public Accounts Committee of Lok Sabha. He is the officer who submitted a note to the Minister of Railways. He is the officer who presided over the meeting with the presided over the meeting held in pursuance of directions dated 27.9.2013 issued by Supreme Court of India. In normal circumstances such a person who is respondent in this case and chaired the meeting cannot be expected to think from our point of view leave alone the principle of Natural Justice. He will in no case agree to our points when he is accusing RTSAs of all sort of wrong doings. It is false statement that The Ministry has followed the Principles of Natural Justice by giving adequate opportunity and hearing to the legitimate grievances of the petitioners”. How a respondent who is judge can do natural justice to the applicant? The following actions of Ministry of Railways shows that they have no respect for rule of law and justice leave alone Natural Justice: a) Ministry of Railways issued illegal order for renewal or RTSA licence for 6 months instead of 3 years as given in Notification/Judgement of this Court. This order of Ministry was later stayed by Delhi High Court. b) Ministry of Railway did not serve the notices in pursuance of order of this Court for four years to harass the RTSAs and asked for time again and again. c) Service charges of RTSAs were not increased since 1998 despite repeated requests. d) Issued an order for issue of E-tickets during certain to RTSAs having more than 20 years’ experience when they post a person recruited through Railway Recruitment Boards after giving training for 6 months. e) Without any public complaint, sent Railway employees as duplicate customers or called Decoy to cancel the RTSA agencies. To threaten the RTSAs Commercial and Vigilance staff took Railway Protection Force alongwith them to the office of RTSAs. RPF is legally not entitled to go to public premises outside Railway boundries. f) Member Traffic, Addl. Member Commercial and Executive Director PM did not give appointment to The Association of Indian RTSAs to discuss the problem of RTSAs. g) Non-refund of tatkal ticket fare after cancellation is their natural justice. h) Abuse of dominant role as a single railway company in selling 50% of tatkal ticket as dynamic fare based system is natural justice. i) Issuing Izzat Monthly Season Ticket (MST ) for return journey of 150 kms. for Rs.25/- for a month and charging general public Rs.2100.00 for same distance in a month. j) Govt. is charging reservation charges without giving reservation, that is natural justice. k) Creating problem for old, infirm and needy railway users from getting PRS issued tickets through RTSAs. l) Not refund crores of rupees of E-ticket booking people for several years is natural justice because the money should be refunded naturally. m) Railway raising their reservation and cancellation charges and not revising service charges of RTSAs is natural justice attitude of Ministry. n) Charging Rs.400/- under Tatkal for emergency booking going to attend death case or to see dying patient and on the other hand booking a party for going to attend a party or marriage from Headquarters quota of Railway Minister or on request of Member Traffic without any extra charges, this is natural justice. o) Opening a PRS centre in the office of Ministry of Railways and advising others to buy only E-ticket Your honour is requested to direct the Ministry of Railways to inform the court of cases of irregularity and violation of Reservation Rules as mentioned time and in this Court in respect of Cases booked against RTSAs, Reservation Clerks, Railway commercial officers, RPF, number of touts apprehended, number of involvement of IRCTC officers and employees in frauds committed by E-ticket Main and their sub agents, number of multiple IDs cancelled, No of personal ID misuse cases detected, loss caused to Railways due to software defects of IRCTC,
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 07:17:35 +0000
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