NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court today asked the Railways Ministry to resolve alleged anomaly which allows waitlisted ticket holders, who purchase them from counters, to board a train while denies the same to waitlisted e-ticket holders.
A waitlisted ticket, purchased from counters, allows a person to board a train even if it remains unconfirmed while the waitlisted e-ticket gets cancelled automatically, the plea had said.
"We direct the Railways to consider within a period of six months from today, the matter in the perspective...and to devise ways and means for preventing the practise, if any, in vogue of the touts/unscrupulous elements for their own gain blocking the seats/berths by making reservation therefor in bogus names and then making such seats/berths available to bonafide passengers willing to pay premium, by allowing them to board the train on the basis of wait-listed tickets in physical form and occupy the seats/berths of the bogus reservation," the court said.
The court, which did not find it "discriminatory", also suggested a solution to this problem by asking the Ministry to provide an option to an e-ticket purchaser as to whether he wants his ticket to be cancelled or not in the event of its non-confirmation.
"One suggestion which comes to our mind is to give an option to passengers purchasing e-ticket to not have their tickets cancelled automatically at the time of preparation of the final chart before departure of the train ...," it said.
The bench did not agree with the plea that the system was discriminatory saying "in our opinion, the mere fact that the passenger holding a ticket in the physical form is entitled to take such a chance even though not entitled under the Rules & Regulations to do so would not make out a case for discrimination.
"Such possibility has emerged from the difference in the nature of e-ticket and ticket in the physical form. No case of discrimination can be said to have been made out."