THE REGISTRAR of the Allahabad High Court has written to the Railways authorities and sought an explanation over “inconvenience” caused to an Allahabad High Court judge while he was traveling on July 8 on the Purushottam Express from New Delhi to Prayagraj. In the letter, dated July 14, the Registrar pointed out that the incident, including not being provided refreshments after the train was delayed by more than three hours, “caused great inconvenience and displeasure to his Lordship”. When contacted by The Indian Express, Chief Public Relations Officer (North Central Railways) Himanshu Shekhar Upadhyay said on Tuesday, “We have taken cognizance of the letter and a clarification has been sought from the officials concerned. After the clarification is received, further action will be taken and the honourable court will be informed about the same.” “Our objective is to provide the best services to all. We are looking into where the lapses happened,” Upadhyay added. The letter was written by Allahabad High Court Registrar (Protocol) Ashish Kr Srivastava to the North Central Railways General Manageri. The letter read, “It is to inform you that recently, the honourable Justice. faced inconvenience during a train journey of his Lordship from New Delhi to Prayagraj.” It said that the judge was travelling with his spouse on July 8 in Purushottam Express in a first AC coach. “The train was more than three hours late. In spite of repeatedly informing the Travelling Ticket Examiner (TTE), no Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel were found in the coach. Further, no pantry car staff attended to His Lordship for providing refreshments despite repeated calls. Moreover, a call made to the pantry car manager was not picked up,” reads the letter. It also said that the incident “caused great inconvenience and displeasure to his Lordship”. “In this regard, the Honourable Judge wishes that explanation may be called from the erring officials of the Railways, the GRP personnel and the pantry car manager…” In the letter, the Registrar has requested the Railways to “call the explanation of the officials concerned” and send it to the Allahabad High Court so it can be placed before “His Lordship for kind perusal”.
