MADURAI
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday summoned the Additional General Manager of the Southern Railway on a petition that alleged that railway premises were being used to put up flex boards and banners carrying political messages.
A Division Bench of Justices N. Kirubakaran and S. S. Sundar summoned the official to the court on April 15. Earlier, the court had ordered notice to Southern Railway and asked if there was an Act similar to that of the Tamil Nadu Open Places (Prevention of Disfigurement) Act, 1959, so that disfigurement of walls at railway stations could be prevented.
The petitioner, T. Prabhakar of Madurai, in his public interest litigation petition complained that railway premises were being used without permission to put up flex boards, banners and cutouts. Further, he said, railway properties were being encroached upon, but the railway officials were not doing anything to remove them.
He sought a direction to Southern Railway to remove flex boards and banners from railway premises and take action against encroachers.