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Delhi HC asks Railways to enable lower berths for pregnant women on IRCTC
The Delhi High Court asked the Railways to clarify how pregnant women can seek lower berths on IRCTC. The case raises whether a welfare policy is being undermined by the online booking system.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday asked the Railways to state its position on a plea seeking lower berths for pregnant women in online bookings as well, while observing that it expected the reservation policy for such passengers to be followed on the IRCTC platform too.
A bench of Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia said that while the existing railway reservation policy gave pregnant women preferential consideration for lower berths, the IRCTC platform had no mechanism for them to seek the benefit. The court issued notice to the authorities on a PIL filed by Anunay Sahay and listed the matter for hearing on September 30.
"IRCTC appears to be an agent of the Railways. It becomes the bounden duty of Railways to ensure that its policy is complied with. We expect that all appropriate steps shall be taken by respondents 1 and 2 (Centre and the Railway Board) to ensure that the policy is followed and appropriate directions are issued to respondent no. 3 (IRCTC)," the bench said.
The petition said the IRCTC application effectively prevented a pregnant woman from seeking the lower-berth facility and instead required her to go to a physical reservation counter with a certificate from a registered medical practitioner. It said, "The lower-berth facility for pregnant women is evidently intended to address the physical requirements, access to facilities et al associated with pregnancy and to facilitate safer and more comfortable travel. And thus requiring the beneficiary of such facility to undertake an additional physical procedure to get her tickets booked frustrates the very object of the protective measure."
It further said, "A beneficial policy must be implemented in a manner that advances, rather than defeats, its purpose. Thus, the digital reservation system ought consequently to incorporate a mechanism whereby an eligible pregnant woman can indicate her status and seek allocation against the applicable lower-berth facility, subject to verification and availability." The case will next be heard on September 30 as the court considers whether the Railways must ensure the policy is implemented on the IRCTC platform as well.