‘Why sell excess tickets?’: Delhi HC to Indian Railways after New Delhi stampede

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Indian Railways why it was selling train tickets beyond the number of passengers that could be accommodated in a coach, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Chief Justice DK Upadhyay and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing a public interest litigation petition by Arth Vidhi, a group of lawyers and entrepreneurs, seeking safety measures to prevent stampedes like the one that occurred at New Delhi Railway Station on February 15.

The stampede, which took place amid a surge in passengers going to the Kumbh Mela in Uttar Pradesh’s Prayagraj, led to 18 deaths and left many injured.

The petitioners have sought proper implementation of the provisions under the Railways Act to prevent similar incidents.

“If you fix the number of passengers to be accommodated in a coach then why do you sell, why the number of tickets sold exceed that number?” Bar and Bench quoted the court as saying on Wednesday. “That is a problem.”

The court also referred to Section 57 of the Railways Act, which directs the administration to fix the maximum number of passengers accommodated in each compartment of every type of coach.

“If you implement a simple thing in a positive manner in letter and spirit, such situation can be avoided,” the court said. “On rush…

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