Fact check: Can booking train tickets for other people land you in jail?

Indian TV Fact Check: In the age of social media and the Internet, we often encounter countless false stories. They may concern people, countries or organizations. To help you navigate through such misinformation, we bring you a fact check for Indian TV. The latest case of fake news involves Indian Railways. A viral social media post claims that booking tickets for other people can now result in fines or jail time. However, India TV Fact Check found this claim to be completely false.

What goes viral?

The Indian Railways claim is becoming increasingly popular on social media. It suggests that tickets can only be booked for close relatives or people with similar surnames using an ID card. Booking tickets for friends or others can result in a hefty fine of Rs 10,000 and up to 3 years in prison or both. Facebook user Deven Shah shared this post and wrote, “BJP is meticulously doing work that brings curses to it and in the next elections it is supporting Congress in BJP Mukt Bharat Abhiyan.”

Indian Television Investigation

This claim has been making rounds on social media. Hence, we decided to investigate this claim. First, we searched various websites using Google Open Search about this new rule of Indian Railways. However, we did not find any news or information from the railways’ side about the decision to impose penalties on booking tickets for friends. We also checked the official website of the railways, but there was no such announcement from the railways there either.

After an extensive search, we visited railway social networking sites where we found a tweet from IRCTC debunking the viral claim. The railway has issued a notice refuting false information circulating on social media about the ban on booking tickets for people with different surnames.

According to the railways, any person can book tickets for friends, family and relatives using their personal user ID. A maximum of 12 tickets per month can be booked on the ID card and if at least one passenger has Aadhaar authentication, the limit can go up to 24 tickets per month. The railways also stressed that tickets booked on ID cards are not intended for commercial resale, which constitutes an offense under Art. 143 Railway Act 1989

What did the fact check show?

A fact check by India TV confirms that the railways has not imposed any penalty or fine for booking tickets for friends or people with different names. The claim circulating on social media is false. You are advised to exercise caution with such posts.

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