New Delhi:

Indian Railways is a keystone of our country’s infrastructure and any effort to disrupt the integrity and stability of the ticketing system ought to be stopped on its tracks, the Supreme Court said on Thursday.

A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Prashant Kumar Mishra was hearing two separate appeals of two men accused of fraud in railway ticketing.

“The Indian Railways is a keystone of our country’s infrastructure. It carries around 673 crore passengers annually and has a tremendous impact on the economy of this country. Any effort to disrupt the integrity and stability of the ticketing system has to be stopped on its tracks,” the bench said.

The appeals were over the interpretation of Section 143 of the Railways Act, 1989, which provides for imposing of penalty for unauthorised businesses of procuring and supply of railway tickets.

The first appeal challenged a Kerala High Court order quashing the criminal proceedings under Section 143 of the Act launched against one Mathew K Cheriian.

Cheriian was accused of creating fraudulent user IDs with the IRCTC portal to procure and peddle railway tickets for profit, without being an authorised agent.

In the other appeal, one J Ramesh challenged a Madras High Court judgment refusing to quash the criminal proceedings against him under Section 143 of the Act.

Ramesh, an authorised agent, was accused of supplying e-tickets, booked through multiple user IDs, to various customers.

The top court said Mathew, not being an authorised agent of the railways should face the proceedings under Section 143 of the Railways Act, 1989.

“Any breach has to be remedied by civil action and not criminal action. To sum up, Mathew not being an authorised agent has to face the proceedings against him while Ramesh, being an authorised agent, cannot be proceeded against under Section 143 of the Act for alleged breach of any of the terms and conditions of the contract. If, at all, he would be liable to face civil action,” the bench held.

The top court, however, quashed the criminal proceedings against Ramesh, and said, “Section 143, by being completely silent on creation of multiple user IDs, penalises the actions of only the unauthorised agents and not unauthorised actions of the authorised agents. Thus, even if the facts disclosed in the first information report are taken at face value, commission of an offence cannot be attributed to Ramesh.” The bench agreed with the prosecution on Section 143, a penal provision, being enacted to tackle a social crime.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A video going viral on social media has sparked a barrage of criticism towards Indian Railways after passengers sleeping on the platform at Lucknow’s Charbagh station were sprayed with cold water, amid the prevailing cold wave conditions. The footage showed the passengers, who usually sleep on the Indian platforms, waiting for the trains, being shrugged off and forced to vacate the space by the railway staffers.

The incident, which allegedly transpired last week, showed passengers hastily gathering their belongings, including blankets, as they were forced to leave the platform, which was then cleaned by the railway staff.

A section of social media users were left angered by the incident and slammed the railways staff for not showing some sensitivity towards the passengers.

“Heart breaks man, so much poverty and disregard everywhere, govt after govt has failed the people while the politicians are padding their accounts in one tax heaven after another,” said one social media user, while another added: “The station needs cleaning but not like this, more so in such biting cold. No consideration even for small kids! Where should the passengers go if their trains are late and waiting rooms are brimming?”

However, some agreed with the officials for clearing the platform, saying it was not the spot to rest as it could cause nuisance to others.

“Railway platform is not a place for lodging. If you have a ticket, use waiting rooms or wait outside,” a user commented.

At #Lucknow‘s #Charbagh railway station, passengers, some sleeping while others waiting for their trains on platforms 8 and 9 faced the insensitivity of the cleaning staff who poured water on them and that too during the cold night to wake them up.

A video of the incident went… pic.twitter.com/7A6zRii9Xw

— Hate Detector (@HateDetectors) December 29, 2024

As the controversy snowballed, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM), Lucknow office issued a statement, claiming that the cleaning staff had been chided, while advising the passengers to not sleep on the platform.

“Necessary instructions have been issued to the cleaning staff and CHI [Chief Health Inspector],” read the DRM statement.

“Passengers are also advised to avoid sleeping on the platforms. The station provides adequate facilities, including waiting halls, dormitories and retiring rooms, which passengers are encouraged to utilise,” it added.