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judgement is well established in India. We shall Judgement in the Supreme Court :
understand this process with the help of a case
which came before the Supreme Court of India in
1973. We have suitably changed the names to
conceal the identities and to adapt the case
according to your needs.
On 17 February, 1961, Mr. Subhash was driving a
car himself. While he was crossing a railway level
crossing, his car was dashed by a mail train. The
car was smashed badly and Mr. Subhash was
seriously injured. While he was being taken to the
hospital, he succumbed to his injuries.
Mrs. Supriya, the widow of Mr. Subhash, filed a
case against the Government of India (as the
owner of the railways) in the district court. She
said in her plaint that the level crossing was
unmanned and its gates were open at the time of
the passing of the train. This act of the railways
amounted to negligence. She also contended that
there was no negligence on the part of the
deceased as he could not have a look of the railway
line from a distance as his view was obstructed by
some trees etc., nor could he have heard the sound
of the coming mail train while he was in a car with
the engine running and the windscreen closed.
Judgement in the District Court : The District
Judge heard the case and examined the evidence.
He decided that it was the duty of the deceased to
ensure that no train was coming before he crossed
the level crossing. He said that there was no
negligence on the part of the railways. So, the
Government of India was not responsible.
Judgement in the High Court : Mrs. Supriya was
unhappy with the judgement of the District Judge,
so she filed an appeal at the High Court. The judge
at the High Court carefully heard the parties and
examined the witnesses. After a long debate, the
judge decided that the deceased was not at fault
because it was natural for any person to cross the
level crossing if it was not closed and if there was
no other sign to indicate the arrival of the train.
He also held that it was not possible for the
deceased to know if a train was coming, especially
from a car with the engine running and the
windshield closed. Therefore, the judge gave a
verdict against the Government of India. He
ordered a compensation to Mrs. Supriya.
Now the
Government of India felt unhappy as the judgement
had now gone against it, so it filed an appeal with
the Supreme Court. The point was discussed in
detail by the Supreme Court. Then, the judge
observed, “Not closing the level gate when the train
was about to arrive was negligence on the part of
the railway administration and the Government of
India was liable for the same.”
Therefore, the Government of India had to pay the
compensation to Mrs. Supriya for causing the death
of her husband negligently.
THE POLICE
The police is a part and parcel of our social life. It
carries out important functions so that the social
and political life of the people can be smooth. It
has varied duties to perform, the most important
of which are maintenance of law and order,
security of public and private property, security of
the people and VIPs, prevention of crime, arrest of
criminals, investigation of crime etc.
A police station A policeman
Due to these functions, the police organisation has
become quite powerful, and often there are
reports of its highhanded approach in dealing with
the people. It is often seen that the people do not
like to cooperate with the police because of lack
of belief in it. In fact, the present image of the
police has been inherited from the British rule
when it was an instrument to curb the liberties of
the people, and at present, the police organisation
has done little to improve upon its image. There
are many cases when the people give up their
rights and duties only to save themselves from the
harassment of the police. If the people do not
come forward to help a victim of an accident, it is
due to the negative image of the police.
A reform of the police organisation is necessary so
The Judiciary
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