Booking train tickets for friends or relatives on IRCTC attracts penalty? Fact check

Claim: Govt’s new rule on booking train tickets for friends or relatives on IRCTC attracts penalty or even jail.

Conclusion: The claim is false. The Railway Ministry has not made any such new rule. The IRCTC too clarified that the “news in circulation on social media about booking of e-tickets due to different surname” is false and misleading.

Rating: Totally false —

See the complete fact check in video here or Read the below article.

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A message about the Indian railways is making rounds on social media that one person cannot book train tickets using his personal ID on IRCTC website for friends or relatives. If he or she does, it atttacts jail or penalty of Rs 10,000, said the claim.

See the post below:

Railway Online Ticket Booking Rules Changed: Booking Train Tickets for Others via Personal IRCTC ID Can Land You In Jail

Booking train tickets for others through your personal IRCTC account may seem like a helpful gesture, but it can have severe consequences. Despite good… pic.twitter.com/yxZ6I3bXLb

— RTV (@RTVnewsnetwork) June 23, 2024

Another claim says jail time and fines up to Rs. 10,000 for booking tickets for others. See the post below:

Govt’s new rule on online train ticket booking via personal IRCTC IDs is absurd! Penalizing people with jail time and fines up to Rs. 10,000 for booking tickets for others? Srsly?! Let’s prioritize cmn sense over unnecessary regulations! #IndiaRailwayshttps://t.co/I1hkDPpNJh

— Aman Ganjawaala☮️🇮🇳 (@KuchBhiAman) June 25, 2024

FACT-CHECK

Digiteye India took up these claims for fact-checking as these claims are about Indian Railways, which is the most-used mode of  transport in india by all classes of people. We first searched the Indian Raiways officail handle on X and found that IRCTC had already clarified that the claim was fake and has given the correct information and guidelines. See the post from IRCTC official handle:

The news in circulation on social media about restriction in booking of e-tickets due to different surname is false and misleading. pic.twitter.com/xu3Q7uEWbX

— IRCTC (@IRCTCofficial) June 25, 2024

Even the Minstry of Railways has clairified:

The news in circulation on social media about restriction in booking of etickets due to different surname is false and misleading. pic.twitter.com/jLUHVm2vLr

— Spokesperson Railways (@SpokespersonIR) June 25, 2024

Hence the claim is false.

 

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