Northern Circle Defies Chief's Order in Rail Inquiry
The Commissioner of Railway Safety, Northern Circle, refuses to follow a Chief Commissioner's directive to submit draft inquiry reports of train accidents before issuing preliminary reports. The move challenges a decade-old circular, seeking to maintain the independence of investigations as per the Railway Act.
- Country:
- India
Tensions have escalated within the railway safety hierarchy as the Commissioner of Railway Safety (CRS) for the Northern Circle has declined to adhere to a decade-old directive from the Chief Commissioner of Railway Safety (CCRS). This directive mandated the submission of draft inquiry reports on train accidents before releasing preliminary findings.
The CCRS's office has justified the order as a tool to standardize investigation report formats, an initiative reportedly anchored in the 2012 guidelines of the Railway Act 1989. Despite this, the Northern Circle's current commissioner, Dinesh Chand Deshwal, has remarked that compliance with the directive would contravene legal norms underpinning independent inquiries.
This refusal marks a significant rupture, as it is the first time any CRS, tasked with independently investigating train incidents, has openly defied the order. Supporting the Northern Circle's stance, experts argue that intrusion in investigation processes undermines the authority granted by the Railway Act's provisions for autonomous probes.
(With inputs from agencies.)
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