New Delhi, January 9, 2025: The Supreme Court of India issued a landmark judgement on Thursday that deals with scams in the ticketing system of Indian Railways. The honourable court had made it known that any aberration in ticketing must not be tolerated with Indian Railways.
A bench comprising Justices Dipankar Datta and Prashant Kumar Mishra was hearing two different appeals involving persons accused of fraudulent activities in relation to procuring railway tickets.
Court underlines the significance of Railways:
The bench made some very strong observations regarding the role of Indian Railways, which it described as a keystone of the nation’s infrastructure. It carries approximately 673 crore passengers annually and plays a critical role in the country’s economy. The court further stressed that any efforts to disrupt the ticketing system must be promptly halted to maintain stability.
Cases Under Consideration
The appeals concerned the interpretation of Section 143 of the Railways Act, 1989, which deals with penalties for unauthorized ticketing activities. The first appeal involved Mathew K Cherian from Kerala, who was accused of creating fraudulent user IDs on the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) portal to procure and sell railway tickets for profit without being an authorized agent.
The second petition was filed on behalf of J Ramesh, an agent authorized by Southern Railway, charged with the issuance of e-tickets to customers on multiple user ids. The said criminal proceedings have been refused in the Madras High Court after invoking Section 143.
The bench held that, in addition to being an unauthorized agent, Mathew K Cherian will have criminal recourse under Section 143 of the Railways Act because he was involved in ticketing fraud. On the other hand, it held that whereas Ramesh was an authorized agent, he could not be prosecuted in terms of the same section for using multiple IDs for supplying tickets. The bench clarified that such breaches would attract only civil proceedings, and not criminal charges.
The court further clarified that Section 143 does not speak to the issue of the creation of multiple user IDs by authorized agents, and hence Ramesh’s actions could not be considered a criminal offense under the Act.
Legal Consequences
This judgment explains the ambit of Section 143, which prevents unauthorized business in railway ticketing. It clearly distinguishes between the activities of unauthorized agents such as Cherian and the conduct of authorized agents such as Ramesh. Therefore, criminal proceedings against Ramesh were quashed and only civil action could be applicable in his case.
The Supreme Court judgment further emphasizes the need for a safe and stable ticketing system for Indian Railways. It also clarifies the legal limits regarding unauthorized and authorized agents under the Railways Act, thus underlining the need to protect the public from ticketing fraud.