Why no special train compartment for women, HC asks

The High Court today wanted to know why a special compartment should not be arranged for female passengers and separate reserved seats should not be allocated for children, physically challenged passengers and senior citizens in every train for ensuring their privacy and security.

The HC issued a rule asking the respondents to explain in four weeks in this connection.

In the rule, the court also asked the respondents to show causes why their inaction to implement the relevant rules for arranging special compartment for female passengers in the train should not be declared illegal.

Secretaries to the ministries of railway and home affairs, director general, manager and inspector of railway department have been made respondents to the rule, writ petitioner's lawyer Ajmol Hossain Khokon told The Daily Star.

The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice SM Maniruzzaman came up with the rule following a writ petition filed by Supreme Court lawyer Mamtaz Parvin seeking necessary directives on this issue.

She submitted the petition as a public interest litigation on January 13 to the HC seeking its directive on the government to arrange a special compartment for female passengers in every train for ensuring their security and privacy.

Mamtaz's lawyer Ajmol Hossain Khokon earlier told The Daily Star that a special compartment for female passengers is supposed to be arranged in every passenger-train as per sections 64 and 119 of the Railway Act, 1890.

But the provisions of the law were not implemented and therefore female passengers face different problems in the trains, he added.