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The High Court of Himachal Pradesh has quashed an FIR and criminal proceedings against former Shimla Municipal Corporation councillor Diwakar Dev Sharma in a case related to the alleged endangerment of railway safety during the laying of a sewerage pipeline.
In an order passed on February 23, 2026, Justice Sandeep Sharma allowed a petition filed under Section 482 of the CrPC seeking quashing of FIR No. 53 of 2020 registered under Section 153 of the Railways Act. The case had been lodged by railway authorities alleging that unauthorised construction and erection of an electric pole alongside the railway line posed a safety risk to passengers. The court noted that Sharma, who was the elected councillor of Ward No. 7 at the time, had merely raised the issue of laying a sewerage line in the public interest and played no role in the execution of the work, which was carried out by the executing agency under official supervision. After examining the material on record, the court observed that there was no evidence to show any wilful act or omission by the petitioner that endangered railway safety, a key requirement for invoking Section 153 of the Railways Act. It further noted that even the alleged electric pole had been removed, and no passenger complaint had been reported. The court held that "no case, much less under Section 153 of the Act, is made out against the petitioner", and allowing the prosecution to continue would amount to abuse of the process of law. Consequently, the FIR and all consequential proceedings were quashed, and the petitioner stood acquitted. The petition was accordingly disposed of along with all pending applications. (ANI)
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