Why Railways Provide Accident Insurance Cover Only To Online Ticket Buyers? Supreme Court Asks

The Supreme Court recently asked Indian Railways to explain why accident insurance cover is available only to passengers who purchase tickets online and not to those who buy tickets offline.

“In addition, the learned Amicus has pointed out that an insurance cover is provided to passengers purchasing tickets online to cover accidents, which is not available to those who purchase tickets offline. Mr. Banerjee is required to take instructions as to the reason for this distinction between the two modes of procurement of tickets”, the Court stated.

A bench of Justice Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Justice K. Vinod Chandran also directed the Railways to focus on safety of railway tracks and railway crossings.

“we are of the considered opinion that, at the initial stage, the focus should be on the safety of the tracks and the railway crossings, from which other aspects would emerge”, the Court said.

The Court was hearing a case regarding various safety concerns in the Railway system. The Court has been dealing with this issue after the concerns were highlighted in a railway accident compensation case by Amicus Curiae Senior Advocate Shikhil Suri.

The Court was dealing with a report submitted by the Railways in which several issues were flagged. Additional Solicitor General Vikramjit Banerjee for the Railways, however, clarified that the points listed in the report should not be treated as the priorities of the Railways and were only meant to highlight the areas in which conscious decisions had been taken on safety of the system and passengers.

The Court noted that the Railways had indicated its proposed steps but had not mentioned definite timelines. It directed that the Railways file a better affidavit focusing, for the present, on the safety of railway tracks and railway crossings. It also directed him to take instructions on the reason for the difference in insurance cover between online and offline ticket purchases.

The Court said the Railways may continue with its overall plan for improvement of the system. For the present, however, it directed the Railways to file a further affidavit or report on the two identified issues and to respond on the insurance aspect. The Court kept the matter for further hearing on January 13, 2026.

On September 2, 2025 the Court had asked the ASG to discuss the matter in depth with the concerned officials and prioritise a few core areas for monitoring and implementation at the initial stage, taking into account the reports and suggestions of the Amicus Curiae.

While dealing with compensation case, the Court had taken note of four reports on safety in Indian Railways cited by the Amicus Curiae: the Anil Kakodkar High Level Safety Review Committee Report dated February 17, 2012; the Twelfth Report of the 16th Lok Sabha on safety and security in Railways; Report No. 14 of 2016 of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on Suburban Train Services in Indian Railways; and the Twenty Third Report of the Standing Committee on Railways (2013-14), Fifteenth Lok Sabha, Ministry of Railways Report on Suburban Train Services of Indian Railways with particular emphasis on security of women passengers.

The Court had asked the Railways to consider the matter and ensure that the concerns regarding safety are immediately addressed.

Case no. – Miscellaneous Application No.741-742/2019

Case Title – Union of India v. Radha Yadav