News about a new booking rule from IRCTC is spreading widely on social media. According to this rumoured rule, individuals can only book tickets for blood relatives or those with the same surname using a personal IRCTC account. Booking tickets for friends or others could result in a hefty fine of Rs 10,000, a jail term of up to 3 years, or both (here & here). This article aims to check the authenticity of the circulating news.
Claim: As per IRCTC’s new rule, individuals can only book tickets for blood relatives or those with the same surname using personal IRCTC account.
Fact: IRCTC clarified that users are allowed to book tickets for friends, family, and relatives regardless of their surname, as long as the booking is done through a valid IRCTC account. Furthermore, it stated that tickets booked using personal User IDs are intended for personal use only and should not be sold for profit. Hence, the claim made in the post is FALSE.
If IRCTC issues any guidelines, they would be available on their website and reported by news agencies. However, we could not find any new guidelines as claimed in the viral post.
Additionally, social media posts sharing this news attribute it to Section 143 of the Indian Railways Act, 1989. However, this section of the act pertains to the unauthorized business of procuring and supplying railway tickets. It states that any person who is not a railway employee or an authorized agent involved in procuring and selling railway tickets shall be imprisoned for up to three years or fined up to Rs 10,000.
It is likely that the rule about punishing those who engage in the business of procuring and selling tickets has been misconstrued to mean that tickets can only be booked for family members. However, there is no mention anywhere in this section that restricts booking tickets exclusively for family members.
As the news went viral, IRCTC issued a clarification through their official Twitter account. They confirmed that users are allowed to book tickets for friends, family, and relatives regardless of their surname, as long as the booking is done through a valid IRCTC account. Additionally, IRCTC stated that standard users can book a maximum of 12 tickets per month, while users who have linked their Aadhaar with their IRCTC account can book up to 24 tickets per month, provided at least one passenger on each ticket is also Aadhaar-authenticated.
It is important to remember that tickets booked using personal User IDs are intended for personal use only and should not be sold for profit. Selling these tickets commercially is illegal and constitutes an offence under Section 143 of the Railways Act, 1989. Additionally, information available on the IRCTC website clearly states that tickets can be booked for friends and family members.
To sum up, IRCTC clarified that users can book tickets for friends, family, and relatives regardless of their surname.
