DR. P. NALLA THAMBY THERA versus UNION OF INDIA AND OTHERS

Citation: [1984] 1 S.C.R. 709 · Decided: 28-10-1983 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: P.N. BHAGWATI · Disposal: Disposed off
Cited by 2 judgment(s) · see the full citation network in Lexace
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this case
Judgment (excerpt)

• 
. 
) 
f 
.. 
DR. P. NALI.:A THAMBY 'fHBRA 
v. 
UNION OF INDIA. AND OTHERS 
.[P.N. 
October 28, .1983 
BHAGWATJ,. AMARENDRA NATH SEN AND 
RANGANATH MISRA: JJ.] 
'709 
·Public Interest Litlgation-Petitio!ler .a cominuter of the Indian Railways 
praying ior. ~writ of Mandamus undet Article 32 of the Constitution 'for imp/e • 
. mentailon 'of Ille several Con1n1ittee Reports. appointing a-fact finding Commission 
to inquire and repo"rt about the railways accidents and for directions t{J c,0n1ply 
.With every·provision,,.of th"e RailWay-Act so as not to violate- Articles 19 and 21 of 
the Constitution...i....Cof;lrts cannol give ahy directions to the Union.of India-Costs 
of Public lntere~t Litigatio·n,_payment of. 
. · 
Disposing off the petition; n1aking certain observations and expressing 
~·its iriability to _i_ssue any directions, except ·awarding costs, the Corirt . 
HELD·:· 1. Giving directions in a·matter like· ibis, where availability 
· of resourCes .has a material beariiig, poliCy ·regarding' prioritl.es is involved, 
exPertise is very "much in issue is"not p~dent to issue any direc.tions. Ordina-
rily the powers of. the cOurt to deal with a matter ·such as ·this, which Piima-
facie appears to be- wholly within the do~ain of. the EXi::cutive n1ust be 
examined. [723 H, 724 Al · . 
The Govt .. have limit.ations', both of resources and· capacity. )Tet, it is 
hoped that the Government and the Adminisfration would rise to the necessity. 
Of the occasion and take it as a challenge to improVe ibis great priblic utility . 
(Railways) ii:i an effective way and.with an cidequate ··sense of urgency. If, 
necessary J "it shall set "up. a high powe"red body to quickly handle the ma,ny faced 
pioblemS stailding in the way. -(723 G-HJ 
-
· 
2. As the present case is ·a. public · inierest litigatiOn, the petitioner is 
entitled to, consOli.dated costs of Rs. 5,000- recoverable from the Railway 
· Ministty of the Union Government. (724 F~GJ · 
3. There is hardly any scOPe to.doUbt that the guarantee~ provided in · 
Part Ill of the Constitution are Fundamental and it is the paramount obligation 
of ihe State to ensure availability Or situations, circumstances, and e~Viron
ments in which every citizen can effectively exercis~ a.ild ·enjoy these rights. 
: The· right to life has rcc.ently been held b:Y the Supreme· Court to connote not 
merely animal eXistence but to have a much wider meaning-to irlclude the ·finer 
graces of buma~ civilization. ' If these right~ of the citizens are to be· ~nsured, 
• 
A 
B 
c 
n 
E 
F 
G 
H 
A 
c 
D 
E 
F 
G. 
H 
710 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[t 984 J 1 s.~.n. 
it is undoubtedly the obligation of the" Union of India and its instrumentalities 
to improve the established means of cominunica.tion in this.country. [722 E-GJ 
3.2. The Railway·s are a public ufility-scrvice fun on monopoly basis. 
Since it is a public utHity, there is _no Justification to run it merCly as a com mer~ 
cial venture with a ·view to. -making prefits. It is noi known if a monopoly 
based public utility should ever ~be a commercial venture geared to supply· the 
general revenue of the State but there is no doubt that the common man's 
mode of transport closely conncctc~ with the free play of his fundamental right 
should not be. [722 H, 723 A] 
3.3. TJle Union Government should be free to coliect the entire opera-
tional cost ·whiCh would inclµde the interest on _the capital outlay out of the 
national exchf:quer. Small marginal profits cannot be ruled out. The massive 
operation will require a margin of adjustment and, therefore, n1arginaJ ·profits 
should be admissible. [723 B-C] 
· · · 
· 
3.4. On the other· hand, it is of Paramount importance that the services 
should be prompt. The quality ~f the service shOuld irnpr'Ove. -Travel com-
forts, facilities in running.trains and qualitf of accommodation and availability 
thereof should be ensured. The Administralion· -should remain always alive to 
the positio~ that every bona.fide. passenger is a guest of the service. Tickeiless 
travelling has to be totallY wiped out. . It is this class of passengers which is 
a menance to the system without any· payment, these Jaw br-eakers disturb the 
administration and genuine passengers. · Stringent raws should be n1ade and 
strictly enforced to free the Railways.from this deep rooted eVil 
Security both 
of the travelling pub1ic as also to the travelling_citizens must be provided and 
this means that accidents have to be avoided,
Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.