BOBAN J OLASA Vs. SOUTHERN RAILWAY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) PETITIONER in W.P. (C)No.3515 of 2007 states that he is a commuter between Ernakulam and Changanacherry and using the services of Venad Express and Parasuram Express trains. He seeks a direction to the railway authorities to refrain from abolishing first class coaches of those trains and to issue first class railway season tickets to the petitioner to travel in those trains on the expiry of his current season ticket. Though there was some controversy raised on the basis of the communication issued by the Thiruvananthapuram Divisional Office of the Southern Railway stating that issuance of first class season tickets is being withdrawn with immediate effect on 19-1-2007 owing to non-availability of first class coaches, the said Divisional Office, acting on certain representations of the season ticket holders, issued communication dated 2-2-2007 to the effect that first class season tickets would be issued to be utilised by the commuters of Venad Express and Parasuram Express trains. A copy of that communication has been placed before this Court by the standing counsel for the Railways. So much so, the immediate grievance of the petitioner in W.P.(C) No.3515 of 2007 stands redressed.

(2.) PETITIONERS in W.P. (C) No.4068 of 2007 state that they are the commuters between Kollam and Thiruvananthapuram Central Station and they will be deprived of the service of first class coaches in view of the decision of the railways to recall first class season tickets, since, according to them, they are entitled to travel by first class coaches attached to any train, during day time. As per the Divisional Office communication dated 2-2-2007, noticed above, first class season tickets would be issued for Venad Express and Parasuram Express trains and only the first class coaches in the other trains cannot be utilised by the season ticket holders and any renewal of season tickets will be on the purchaser of such season tickets agreeing and making a declaration regarding the conditions enumerated in the said letter, which read as follows:

(3.) PASSENGERS who intend to purchase first class season tickets should give a declaration that they are aware of the above conditions and are ready to accept the same without any dispute." 3. The effect of Condition No. 2 above, is that first class coaches other than those attached to Venad Express and Parasuram Express trains are fully reserved and they run during the night hours also and that season ticket is not permissible for travel in these trains as per Railway Board Guidelines and any person found so traveling would be treated as a ticketless person. 4. Adv.Sri.George Poonthottam, the learned counsel for the petitioners in W.P.(C)No. 4068 of 2007, contended that the conditions in the communication dated 2-2-2007 regarding the user of first class coaches other than those attached to Venad Express and Parasuram Express trains, by season ticket holders, run contrary to the legal entitlement of the petitioners to such user. According to him, the first class coaches that are unavailable for a season ticket holder has to be those which are reserved coaches, and such embargo would be there only during the night hours. This means, according to him, that the first class season ticket holder would be entitled to travel in any first class coaches attached to trains other than Venad and Parasuram Express also, during day time, even if such coaches are reserved coaches. The aforesaid argument on behalf of the petitioners in W.P.(C)No.4068 of 2007 requires to be considered in the backdrop of the Tariff Rules framed by the Railway Board and which has found acceptance of the Division Bench of this Court in the judgment dated 14-8-2001 in W.A.No.3133 of 2001. I may at once notice that the issue that gained the attention of the Division Bench leading to that judgment was as to whether first class season tickets could be utilised to travel by second class air- conditioned coaches. But, then, in arriving at the conclusion in that judgment, this Court referred to Clause 242.1 of the Tariff Rules, relating to season tickets. The fifth internal paragraph (unnumbered) of R. 242.1 is relevant. It reads as follows: