New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) A judicial magistrate has issued a show-cause notice to the divisional railway manager (DRM) of Nanded in Maharashtra, warning of contempt proceedings over the alleged failure to comply with his direction to replace old, bedbug-infested sofas in the VIP waiting room of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar railway station.
However, the chief public relations officer (CPRO) of the South Central Railway Zone, under which the Nanded Division comes, said the division started complying with the judicial magistrate’s order immediately after his direction dated May 20.
“The pest control was started soon after the direction of the magistrate and the old sofas are also in the process of replacement. We are procuring new sofas and very soon, the old ones will be replaced with new ones,” the CPRO told PTI.
In an official communication dated September 19, Judicial Magistrate S M Aher of the Aurangabad District and Sessions Court described the non-compliance as “contemptuous” and directed the DRM to appear in person before him on September 30, and explain why action under the Contempt of Courts Act should not be initiated.
The magistrate said the condition of the VIP room is so disgusting that many judges have to sit in their cars while waiting for trains, instead of using the room.
In an earlier communication dated May 20, the magistrate said Justice Manjusha Deshpande of the Bombay High Court and her husband had noticed the old, bedbug-infested sofas during their visit to the room.
“I have to inform you that in the VIP room of the Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar railway station, the sofas are very old and they are having so many bedbugs. Hon’ble Justice Manjusha Deshpande and her husband noticed the same and reported the said fact to me,” the magistrate said in an email to the DRM on May 20.
He directed the DRM to instruct the officials concerned to carry out pest control in the VIP room and replace the existing sofas with new ones so that inconvenience would not be caused to the “Hon’ble Lordships and Ladyships” visiting the VIP room.
“You are also directed to direct the concerned to maintain the VIP room neatly,” the email had added.
Almost four months later, on September 19, the magistrate noted that his directions were not complied with.
“I had issued a direction vide letter under reference to you for changing sofas in VIP room in Railway Station Ch. Sambhajinagar and doing pest control in the same. But it seems the sofas in VIP room are not substituted with new ones,” he wrote to the DRM.
He said the existing sofas still had bedbugs, causing inconvenience to more than 15 judges of the Bombay High Court’s Aurangabad Bench, most of whom travel by train and use the VIP room.
According to the magistrate, since it is very disgusting for the high court judges to sit on those sofas, they sit in their cars instead of using the VIP room.
Upset over the alleged non-compliance, he said, “You neither took any satisfactory action regarding the same nor replied to my letter under reference since May 20, 2026.”
“Your said act is in blatant disrespect to the direction of a judicial officer, which is contemptuous. So also, the same has caused inconvenience to Hon’ble high court judges,” he added.
Issuing a show-cause notice as to why action under the Contempt of Courts Act should not be taken against the DRM, the magistrate said, “You are hereby directed to show cause regarding the same by personally remaining present in the court by September 30. If these directions are not obeyed, then necessary proceedings against you under the Contempt of Court Act will be initiated.”
(PTI News)
