An experienced train driver, who earned accolades for his services in the past, spent nine days in a mental hospital and underwent a special checkup to prove his mental fitness because he had threatened to commit suicide to highlight his grievances.

After Shyam Singh was declared fit in the special checkup, the Agra Rail Division has now asked him to go for a refresher course before getting back to driving.

Agra Railway Division PRO Prashasti Srivastava said the medical examination was required to find out if he was mentally sound to drive trains. “We need to take every single measure to ensure safe train operations. A loco pilot, who carries thousands of passengers, must have an attentive and sound mind.” Mr Srivastava also denied any discrimination or revengeful behaviour by the department towards Mr Singh in any manner.

Mr Singh, 48, who joined the railways as an assistant loco pilot in 1996, has been fighting a legal battle against alleged injustice and highhandedness of his seniors for the past one year.

Mr Singh’s plight started in October 2022 when he received a notice for committing minor violations while driving. In his reply, he not only denied all allegations but also accused his seniors of victimizing him due to personal enmity.

When Mr Singh felt that he was being treated unfairly and not heard properly by his seniors, he applied for voluntary retirement from service (VRS) on December 23, 2022.

However, after his well-wishers and sympathizers advised him not to go for VRS and instead fight back, he opted to withdraw the VRS application, which the department refused and relieved him of his services on February 10, 2023.

Mr Singh challenged it in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT), Allahabad and got a stay order.

“Though the CAT restored his services, the department turned vindictive and put him in junior positions. They knew that he was an experienced mail and express train driver, still he was asked to work as an assistant driver in freight trains against the railway norms,” Sanjay Pandhi, working president of the Indian Railway Loco Runningmen Organisation (IRLRO), said. The IRLRO is providing legal assistance to Mr Singh to fight this case.

Mr Pandhi added, “Singh has been awarded multiple times…for his hard work and quick response to avert accidents.” Meanwhile, Singh wrote several times to his department to put him back to mail and express trains but it was turned down. Out of frustration and to draw the attention of his seniors towards his plight, one day, he wrote on a crew complaint book that he wanted to commit suicide to get rid of his humiliation.

The department used it against him and issued a direction for a mental fitness test and a special brain test to find out if he was mentally sound to drive trains.

When Mr Singh questioned that under which rule he was being subjected to such a test, the department justified it in writing saying that it was important to find out his mental fitness as he drives passenger trains which carry thousands of people and hence it is important for the safety of rail operations.

“Instead of holding a counselling session and trying to understand his grievances, the department sent him to a mental hospital to frustrate him further. This is really pathetic and I request that the Railway Board should intervene in such matters and help employees get justice,” Mr Pandhi added.

Mr Singh spent nine days in a mental hospital only to get a fitness certificate. Even after the hospital declared him medically fit, the department got another test – Non-contrast Computed Tomography (NCCT) of Head – done which showed him normal.

“Now to victimize him further, the railways has asked him to go for a refresher course. Loco pilots are sent for refresher course after three years of driving and Singh’s refresher course is due in July 2024 but the department wants to send him just because of its revengeful behaviour,” Mr Pandhi said.

Divisional PRO Mr Srivastava said that as winters are approaching and loco pilots will encounter foggy weather, every loco pilot will have to undertake a refresher’s course to ensure safe train operations.

“The department has treated Singh’s case with care and compassion. All allegations of injustice or highhandedness are incorrect. We are doing everything possible to bring him back to his job ensuring safety in railways.”

The Consortium of National Law Universities (NLUs) will close the online applications for the Undergraduate and Postgraduate law entrance exam today i.e November 10, 2023. Candidates can submit the registrations by 11:59 pm.

CLAT 2024 is scheduled to be held on December 3, 2023. The date for the release of the admit cards will be notified later. The last date to edit test centre preferences and making any corrections in the applications is November 12, 2023.

While filling the application form, the candidates are also required to mention the preference for the National Law Universities (NLUs) in which they are seeking admission.

Candidates from the general category are required to pay a registration fee of Rs 4,000 for completing the application form. The registration fee for Scheduled Castes (SCs) and Scheduled Tribes (STs) and Below Poverty Line (BPL) candidates is Rs 3,500. In addition to this, candidates are required to pay Rs 500 for question papers.

The Common Law Admission Test (CLAT) is a national level entrance exam that is conducted for admissions to undergraduate (UG) and postgraduate (PG) law programmes offered by 22 National Law Universities in India. 

The exam is organised by the Consortium of National Law Universities, comprising representative universities. The admission to the 5-year integrated LLB and LLM programmes that will commence in the academic year 2024-2025 will be conducted through the scores of the CLAT 2024.

Tesla CEO Elon Musk’s fortunes have faced a substantial blow as the company’s shares stumbled following an analyst downgrade and disappointing quarterly reports from smaller electric vehicle rivals.

Tesla’s stock price took a nosedive on Thursday, falling 5.5% to $210, after HSBC analyst Michael Tyndall initiated coverage of the stock with a sell rating and a target price of $133. Tyndall’s downgrade is the latest sign that investors are becoming more cautious about Tesla’s stock, which has been volatile in recent months.

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The sell rating comes at a time when Tesla is facing a number of challenges, including increasing competition from rivals, rising costs, and supply chain disruptions. The company is also facing scrutiny from regulators around the world over its self-driving technology and safety concerns.

According to Forbes Magazine, some other electric vehicle stocks are sliding, like American electric car maker stocks Rivian (shares down 10% on Thursday) and Lucid (down 5%) after the pair each reported earnings, which disappointed investors Tuesday, with each company on track to burn through billions of dollars in cash this year.

As per the Forbes valuation, Mr Musk, who owns about 13% of Tesla shares, lost $8.7 billion Thursday, a more than $7 billion larger decline than that of any other billionaire, according to Forbes’ calculations. Musk remains the wealthiest person on earth with an estimated net worth of $223.7 billion, though that remains about $100 billion below his peak fortune of $320 billion achieved in November 2021, when Tesla was valued at over $1.2 trillion.