I Manickya Rao
Ref No.
GoI/RM/IMRao-1979-03
1. Name : I Manickya Rao
2. SC/ST : SC/Guntur/Andhra Pradesh
3. Qualifications :
4. Service : Asst Station Master/SC Rly
5. Birth - Month and Year : June
1938
6. Problem Posting : Platform
Station Master
Guntur MG
Section
South Central
Railway
Guntur
7. Posted – Month &
Year : August 1979
PROBLEM AND DISCRIMINATION
Was appointed as an
Asst Railway Station Master in South Central Railway, Secunderabad, Andhra
Pradesh. In 1979, was working as ASM in
Guntur Railway Station. He was assigned
the task of Platform Station Master in the Metre Gauge Section of Guntur.
An accident took place,
when Signal was given to an unscheduled Goods Train to come into the Station in
a line from which a Train had moved out.
The Train entered at high speed.
But the point had been shifted by someone to the yard, for a Goods Train
to move out. The incoming fast Goods
collided head on the Engine of the stationary Goods Train, waiting to move out.
A couple of Individuals
including I Manikya Rao, were arrested, suspended on 14th August
1979, and prosecuted in a criminal case.
But the Station Manager of the MG Section responsible for permitting the
Cabin Station Master to give the Signal was spared, and the relevant Log Books
were not examined. The Criminal Court
did not find Manikya Rao responsible for the Accident, and he was reinstated
into Service on 19th September 1980. But, a Court of Enquiry by the Railways into the incident held
Manikya Rao guilty, and removed him from Service wef 18th June
1981. That, without looking into the
relevant Log-Books relating to Receipt and Despatch of the Trains in the
Station, and Record of Orders to the Cabins and Pointsmen, or examining the
Station Master responsible for the MG Section.
Mankya Rao went to the AP High Court, which on 16th Dec 1983
quashed the Railways Order of Removing Manikya Rao from Service, for the
specific reasons of not examining the Log-Books and the SM responsible. On 25th Feb 1984, an Order for
his Reinstatement was issued, and he was taken back in Service on 9th
March 1984. Another Enquiry was
conducted afresh into the Accident, after
the concerned Station Master on duty at the time of the Accident had expired. And Manikya Rao was removed from Service on
1st June 1992, without
examining the Log-Books on the ground that they were lost and not traceable. Since then Manikya Rao had been appealing to
various Authorities. A Petition to the
President of India made on 15th June 1996 was examined by Ram Vilas
Paswan, the then Minister for Railways.
His PS, Deputy Director Mr DV Rao, looked into the matter in
detail. They found that not only AP
High Court’s Directives to examine the Station Master and Log-Books were not
done, but also he was not all responsible for receiving the Train. Hence, he could not be held guilty for
allowing the Train into the route leading to the Yard where the stationary
Train was waiting to be despatched out of the Station. Mr DV Rao’s Note detailing the entire
sequence of events and responsibilities, runs more than a dozen pages. The Minister referred the Case to UPSC. But the officials of the Railway Board sat
on it, with the excuse that the Govt had changed and Mr Paswan was no more MR. After a lot of further struggle, the
Member/Staff of the Railway Board agreed to look into his case sympathetically
and provide him at least some Retirement Benefits for his Survival. Again nothing happened, since the Member
concerned had retired.
After some more efforts
by Manikya Rao and his sympathisers, some MPs including Mr Buta Singh, Chairman
of the Public Accounts Committee, and former Home Minister of India, the Case
was referred finally to UPSC. UPSC
asked many files, papers and Court Verdicts, which were not available, and
Manikya Rao was asked to provide whatever papers he had. On 1st Feb 2002, the UPSC after
examining DV Rao’s findings, AP High Court Judgement and the case file etc,
fully exonerated Manikya Rao and ordered his reinstatement into Service, with
full benefits from such reinstatement.
Appropriate Govt Order was issued on 20th Feb 2002, which was
communicated by the SC Railway on 27th Feb 2002. Accordingly on 27th June 2002,
Railway Authorities at Vijayawada issued orders of regularisation of Manikya
Rao’s Services, without giving him full benefits, but with-holding his Salaries
and Increments for the Period he was kept under Suspension etc.
REASON : These are
nothing but blatant Harassments, only because Manikya Rao was a SC Dalit. He was picked up for these treatments, just
to close the File of the Accident, shielding the dominant caste SM on Duty, on
that day of Accident in 1979. And poor
Manikya Rao, broken down physically financially and socially is still forced to
carry the cross, and run endlessly for the Justice due to him still.
LESSONS : There appears to be no
hope of Justice, Growth, Development and Progress for the SC&ST Dalits in
Govt
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