The Supreme Court has ruled that criminal action can be taken under the Railways Act, 1989, against those selling unauthorised train e-tickets although the law predates Internet technology.
“We are further of the considered opinion that the mere fact of the system of e-reservation and e-tickets being introduced after the enactment of the Act does not render the provision in Section 143 toothless to combat the illegal sale of e-tickets. Section 143, importantly, makes no distinction between physical and online sale of tickets,” a bench of Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra said.
“The mischief that the provision seeks to remedy is that there should not be illegal and unauthorised procurement and sale of tickets, whatever be the mode — physical or online.
“We agree with the prosecution that Section 143, a penal provision, has been enacted to tackle a social crime. 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 court observed.
The bench allowed an appeal filed by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) challenging a Kerala High Court judgment that had taken the view that selling of railway e-tickets by unauthorised persons was not an offence under Section 143 of the Act as such tickets and the Internet were not in vogue at the time of the 1989 enactment.
Section 143 imposes a penalty of up to three years in jail for unauthorised sale of railway tickets. The high court had passed the judgment while quashing a criminalcase against Mathew K. Cherian for allegedly selling train e-tickets illegally.
Justice Datta of the apex court observed: “There has been a major technological development in the last three decades by reason whereof a significant number of services provided by the governments are available online. Electronic and Internet services have not only become indispensable but offer significant advantages to the public. Having regard to the comprehensive phraseology employed in Section 143, the net of its coverage is wide enough to encompass regulation of the conduct of ticketing agents and to protect the public from unscrupulous elements trying to defraud them by sale of valueless tickets.”