New Delhi:
Indian Railways is a keystone of our nation’s infrastructure and any effort to disrupt the integrity and stability of the ticketing system should be stopped on its tracks, the Supreme Court docket mentioned on Thursday.
A bench of Justices Dipankar Datta and Prashant Kumar Mishra was listening to two separate appeals of two males accused of fraud in railway ticketing.
“The Indian Railways is a keystone of our nation’s infrastructure. It carries round 673 crore passengers yearly and has an incredible influence on the economic system of this nation. Any effort to disrupt the integrity and stability of the ticketing system needs to be stopped on its tracks,” the bench mentioned.
The appeals have been over the interpretation of Part 143 of the Railways Act, 1989, which offers for imposing of penalty for unauthorised companies of procuring and provide of railway tickets.
The primary attraction challenged a Kerala Excessive Court docket order quashing the felony proceedings underneath Part 143 of the Act launched in opposition to one Mathew Ok Cheriian.
Cheriian was accused of making fraudulent person IDs with the IRCTC portal to acquire and peddle railway tickets for revenue, with out being an authorised agent.
Within the different attraction, one J Ramesh challenged a Madras Excessive Court docket judgment refusing to quash the felony proceedings in opposition to him underneath Part 143 of the Act.
Ramesh, an authorised agent, was accused of supplying e-tickets, booked by means of a number of person IDs, to numerous clients.
The highest court docket mentioned Mathew, not being an authorised agent of the railways ought to face the proceedings underneath Part 143 of the Railways Act, 1989.
“Any breach needs to be remedied by civil motion and never felony motion. To sum up, Mathew not being an authorised agent has to face the proceedings in opposition to him whereas Ramesh, being an authorised agent, can’t be proceeded in opposition to underneath Part 143 of the Act for alleged breach of any of the phrases and situations of the contract. If, in any respect, he can be liable to face civil motion,” the bench held.
The highest court docket, nevertheless, quashed the felony proceedings in opposition to Ramesh, and mentioned, “Part 143, by being utterly silent on creation of a number of person IDs, penalises the actions of solely the unauthorised brokers and never unauthorised actions of the authorised brokers. Thus, even when the information disclosed within the first data report are taken at face worth, fee of an offence can’t be attributed to Ramesh.” The bench agreed with the prosecution on Part 143, a penal provision, being enacted to deal with a social crime.
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