Station master's 'OK' to wife costs Railways ₹3cr loss
What's the story
A Visakhapatnam-based station master inadvertently triggered a costly train dispatch error while arguing with his wife over the phone. The incident happened when he ended the call with, "We'll talk at home, OK?" Unbeknownst to him, his work microphone was still on and a colleague misinterpreted the "OK" as an authorization to send a freight train into a restricted Maoist-affected area.
Costly mistake
Train dispatch error leads to ₹3 crore loss, suspension
Although the train dispatch error didn't cause any accidents, it violated night-time restrictions, costing the Railways ₹3 crore. Due to the blunder, the station master was suspended from his duties. After his suspension, the station master had filed for divorce in Visakhapatnam, TOI reported. According to the article, the pair had a marital discord since their marriage on October 12, 2011 as the wife was still in touch with her lover, even calling him while in bed with her husband.
Divorce proceedings
Marital discord escalates into legal battle
After his suspension, the station master filed for divorce in Visakhapatnam. His wife, however, filed a complaint under IPC Section 498A for cruelty and harassment against him and his family members. The case was then transferred to Durg after she expressed fear for her safety. However, when the Durg family court dismissed his divorce petition, he approached the Chhattisgarh High Court.
Court ruling
Chhattisgarh High Court reverses family court's decision
In a recent ruling, Justices Rajani Dubey and Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal found the wife's actions to be "cruelty." They overturned the family court's decision and granted the station master a divorce. The court observed that allegations of an affair with his sister-in-law were false, as were allegations of dowry demands and cruelty by in-laws who didn't live with them.