HC asks: Why not female only compartments in train

The High Court (HC) Wednesday issued a ruling asking the authorities concerned why directives should not be given for allocating separate compartments for women in passenger trains. A bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice SM Moniruzzaman issued the ruling on Wednesday. 

The court also asked why separate seats should not be allotted for safe travel of children, the elderly and physically challenged people. The concerned persons including the Railway Secretary, General Manager of Railways and Railway Inspector have been asked to respond within next four weeks.

Advocates Ajmal Hossain and Momtaz Mou appeared for the writ petition while Deputy Attorney General Samarendra Nath Biswas represented the state. Earlier on 13 January, Ajmal Hossain filed the writ in the High Court seeking directives to allocate separate compartments for safe travel of women on the train. 

The lawyer said that even though there is a rule for allocating a separate for women as per the Bangladesh Railway Act, it was not effective. For this reason, instructions have been sought to implement the law. Section 64 of the Bangladesh Railway Act, 1890 has mentioned for reservation of compartments for females in train.