Calcutta High Court says TTEs sell empty berths like vegetables in market, asks Railways to penalise offenders
The Calcutta High Court has ordered Indian Railways to impose maximum penalties on ticket examiners who illegally sell empty berths to passengers. The ruling follows a tragic case where a passenger was drugged and killed after purchasing an unreserved berth from a corrupt official.
Why it matters
This highlights systemic corruption within public transport and the judiciary's role in enforcing passenger safety and accountability.
Holding that a section of the travelling ticket examiners (TTEs) sell unoccupied berths in trains like “vegetables in a market”, the Calcutta High Court asked the general managers of all railway zones in the country to ensure maximum available penalties for offenders, as such an incident resulted in the death of a drugged theft victim.
Two men, who boarded the Teesta Torsa Express with unreserved tickets on their way from New Jalpaiguri to Sealdah in February 2009, got berths by paying off a TTE and were subsequently drugged by two criminals to rob them of their valuables, the court noted.
One of them, who had comorbidities, died from the sedative administered to him.
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