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| - Fact Check: Booking train tickets for others WON'T land you in jail, viral claims are false
India Today Fact Check found that the viral claim about changed rules in ticket booking is false. The IRCTC has not issued any such notice.
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India Today Fact Check
The IRCTC has not announced any such rule. You can still book tickets for friends and relatives.
If you book train tickets for your friends or relatives with different surnames, can you now end up in jail? This is what a slew of social media posts about Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation or IRCTC are alleging.
These posts claim, “New rules for booking IRCTC ticket. Individuals can only book tickets for blood relations or those with the same surname, using personal ID. Booking for friends or others could lead to a huge fine of Rs 10,000 or a jail term of up to 3 years, or both.”
Many users on X and Facebook have shared this. Even websites like India.com published stories making the same claim.
India Today Fact Check found that the viral claim about changed rules in ticket booking is false. The IRCTC has not issued any such notice.
OUR PROBE
We could not find any credible news report about such a notice being issued by the Indian Railways. We also checked its official website but found no such information.
In the FAQs section on the IRCTC website, we found a question about booking tickets for friends or family: “Can I book tickets for my friends or family?” The IRCTC answers: “Yes, just like flights, you can book tickets for friends and family. Just remember, that while travelling the passenger must carry a valid photo identity proof.” This makes it clear that the viral claim is false.
We also saw that many who shared viral claims attributed them to Section 143 of the Indian Railways Act. However, Section 143 deals with the “unauthorised carrying on of business of procuring and supplying of railway tickets”. It says that any person, who is not a railway servant or an agent authorised on this behalf, who carries on the business of procuring and supplying tickets for travel on a railway shall be punished with imprisonment for up to three years or fined up to Rs 10,000.
We also reached out to the spokesperson of Indian Railways, who told India Today Fact Check the viral claims are false and that the Indian Railways did not issue any such order.
The official accounts of IRCTC and Indian Railways also took to X regarding the viral claims. The IRCTC wrote in its post, “The news in circulation on social media about restriction in the booking of e-tickets due to different surname is false and misleading.”
It is thus clear that the viral claim about IRCTC putting restrictions on ticket booking for people with different surnames is false.
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You can also send us an email at factcheck@intoday.com
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