Unauthorized Railway E-ticket Declared Illegal | 13 Jan 2025

Source: TH

In the Mathew K Cherian Case, 2025, the Supreme Court held that unauthorised business of procuring and supplying railway e-tickets is a social crime which must be stopped.

Section 143 of the Railways Act, 1989 addresses penalties for the unauthorized sale and procurement of railway tickets, both online and offline.
The case referenced the English case of Comdel Commodities Ltd. v. Siporex Trade SA Case, 1990 to argue that legal provisions can extend to unforeseen technological advancements.
- The Kerala High Court had previously ruled that the provision applied only to offline ticket sales but was corrected by the Supreme Court.
Mathew, the accused, created hundreds of unauthorized user IDs to circumvent ticketing limits set by IRCTC (12-24 ticket reservations per month), violating Section 143 of the Act.
The Indian Railways is a keystone of India’s infrastructure that carries around 673 crore passengers annually.