HC junks PIL against name change of Habibganj station, imposes Rs 10,000 cost on petitioner

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Thursday dismissed a PIL filed against renaming of Habibganj railway station in Bhopal after Gond queen Rani Kamalapati, terming the plea as ''frivolous'' and imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on the petitioner.

A division bench of Justices Sheel Nagu and Sunita Yadav observed, “This court does not perceive any public cause involved in this petition, which appears to have been filed to gain cheap publicity.” “This court fails to comprehend as to how the name of a particular Railway Station would lead to furtherance of public cause,'' the bench said.

The cause of public is served by quality and quantity of amenities and facilities available at a railway station and in facilitating ease of travelling by train, it noted.

“This act of facilitation has nothing to do with the name of a particular Railway Station. The present petition is a frivolous and vexatious piece of litigation which has consumed precious time of this court,'' the bench said.

The judges imposed a fine a Rs 10,000 on the petitioner.

“The present petition stands dismissed with cost of Rs 10,000 (Rupees Ten Thousand only) which shall be paid by the petitioner in the Registry to be utilized for purchasing necessary articles & equipment for dealing with the crisis arising out of the third wave of Covid19 pandemic,'' the court said.

Deputy Advocate General Swapnil Ganguly said the PIL was filed by a Seoni- based lawyer, AS Qureshi.

The lawyer had filed the petition on the ground that in 1973 one Guru Habeeb Miyan had donated his land to the Railways on which the station was constructed. Therefore, the station's old name (Habibganj) should be restored.

The station was renamed after Rani Kamalapati in November last year.