New Delhi, Feb 21 (PTI) Expressing anguish over the death of 18 unemployed candidates while travelling on top of a train in Uttar Pradesh last year, the Supreme Court today said the government has both Constitutional and statutory duties to protect lives of people. A bench of justices R M Lodha and H L Gokhale while ticking off the authorities on the incident, directed the Uttar Pradesh government, Railways and ITBP to place before it the fact finding reports purportedly prepared by the three agencies on the February 21, 2011 mishap. "When there is a huge unemployment in the country there are bound to be lakhs of candidates for a few hundred posts. In this there has to be measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents. Human lives have to be protected. Constitutional and statutory duty has to be discharged by the authorities," the apex court observed. It brushed aside the submission of the Uttar Pradesh government counsel that the state cannot be held responsible as the incident was in the domain of the ITBP and the Railways. Moreover, the counsel submitted that it was for the victims to sufficient measures for protecting their lives. "If you want people to take every measure, then what is the point in having a governance? There must be a rule law," the bench snapped at the counsel. A tragedy had occurred at Hathaurda in Uttar Pradesh during the recruitment process of ITBP in which more than two lakh candidates had appeared. ITBP aspirants travelled on the roof of a train and 18 of them were killed after being hit by an over bridge. Advocate Anil Kumar Gupta had filed a PIL seeking compensation for the victims and action against the three agencies for mutual recrimination. (More)
