2014 (7) TMI 623

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....ounters of the respondent Railways. It is contended that while the wait-listed passengers holding e-tickets are prohibited from boarding the train, the wait-listed passengers holding tickets in the physical form are entitled to board the train and take a chance of occupying any seats / berths available owing to "no-show" of the passengers in whose name the confirmed booking exists. 2. Attributing the said discrimination to Rule 2.11.1 d & e of Commercial Circular No.36 of 2011 dated 7th July, 2011 and titled "Introduction of e-ticketing and ticketing through mobile phone on Web Portal of Indian Railways" issued by the Railway Board and which prohibits fully wait-listed passengers holding e-tickets from boarding the train and for automati....

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....les a wait-listed passenger holding ticket in the physical form to so board the train. Section 155 of The Railways Act, 1989 prohibits any passenger from entering a compartment wherein no berth or seat has been reserved for his use and provides for his removal and punishment for the same. The same does not make any distinction between a passenger holding e-ticket and a passenger holding ticket in the physical form. Once the counsel for the petitioner is unable to show that a wait-listed passenger holding ticket in the physical form is entitled to so board the train, the question of the wait-listed passenger holding e-ticket being discriminated, owing to the prohibition contained in the impugned Circular from boarding the train, does not ari....

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....ng we were also informed from the data collected by the petitioner through the medium of Right to Information Act, 2005 that no refund is obtained of a large number of wait-listed tickets issued in the physical form. Therefrom it is sought to be pointed out that the number of wait-listed passengers holding tickets in the physical form so boarding the train and travelling is large. It is argued that the passengers holding e-tickets are deprived of such an opportunity. 9. Such a possibility, in our view, cannot be ruled out. 10. The counsel for the respondent Railways has also argued that one of the objectives of introducing e-ticketing is to do away with the menace of blocking tickets to make the seat / berth subsequently available to ....