HC dismisses PIL questioning separate counters for rly agents

The Bombay High Court today dismissed a public interest litigation challenging separate counters for railway agents at the railway booking offices.
The division bench of Justices Naresh Patil and Ajay Gadkari rejected the petitioner Chetan Trivedi's contention. It held that special counters were in keeping with a policy framed in 1999 for the convenience of the public at large.
Trivedi's petition said that separate counters discriminate against the general public. It also complained that agents book tickets in 'tatkal' as soon as the portal opens, leading to shortage of tickets.
The petition also demanded an inquiry by the anti-corruption bureau against these agents for allegedly running a cartel and committing fraud.

However, Railways' lawyer, Suresh Kumar, said the special counters were set up only to help the people. Earlier people had to wait overnight at the stations to book tickets and this policy decision did away with this inconvenience, he said.