The Calcutta High Court has come down heavily on the functioning of Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs), observing that the practice of illegally allotting vacant berths to unreserved passengers for money is the primary reason behind several drugging-and-robbery incidents on trains. The Court remarked that TTEs "sell empty berths in trains like vegetables in a market" and directed that a copy of its judgment be forwarded to the General Manager of Eastern Railway and other Railway authorities across the country to ensure maximum penalties against erring officials.

A Division Bench of Justice Rajasekhar Mantha and Justice Biswaroop Chowdhury made the observations while partly allowing appeals filed by two convicts in a 2009 train poisoning and robbery case, altering their convictions by holding that the prosecution had failed to establish the offence of murder due to glaring lapses in the investigation.

The Court described the conduct of the TTEs on board the Teesta Torsa Express as a "matter of grave and serious concern." Referring to the evidence on record, it noted that not only the TTE examined in the case but also those who preceded and succeeded him during the train's journey had failed in their duties.

The Bench observed that TTEs routinely allot berths to unreserved passengers at their request after receiving money, adding that this practice created the conditions in which such crimes could flourish. The Court held:

"The aforesaid lapses of the TTEs in the Indian Railways is primarily the reason for the crime in question to have occurred."

The case arose from an incident aboard the Teesta Torsa Express travelling from New Jalpaiguri to Sealdah on February 23, 2009. Two passengers travelling on unreserved tickets allegedly paid a bribe to obtain berths in Coach S-8. During the journey, they were befriended by the accused, who allegedly offered them food and drinks laced with sedatives before robbing them. One passenger, Sunil Kumar Das, died of poisoning, while the other, Arun Chakraborty, survived after nine days of hospitalisation.

The Court noted that the modus operandi involved targeting unsuspecting passengers by administering heavy doses of sleeping medication before stealing their belongings. It observed that although the accused intended to commit theft, the consequences could prove fatal depending on the victim's medical condition.

While criticising the accused's conduct, the Bench was equally severe on the investigation. It termed the probe "inadequate if not halfhearted" and found the lapses of the investigating officer "rather inexcusable." Among the shortcomings identified were the failure to send the deceased's viscera for forensic examination, failure to collect hospital records of the surviving victim, and other deficiencies that weakened the prosecution's case.

In view of these deficiencies, the Court held that the ingredients of murder under Section 302 IPC were "not even remotely attracted." It concluded that the appellants could at best be convicted under Section 328 IPC for administering poison with intent to commit an offence. Accordingly, it set aside their convictions under Sections 302, 307 and 379 IPC while maintaining the conviction under Section 328 IPC, noting that the appellants had already undergone more than the seven-year sentence prescribed for that offence. They were directed to be released forthwith, subject to the requirements of Section 437A CrPC.

Before parting with the matter, the Division Bench directed that its judgment be circulated to railway authorities, observing that stringent action against TTEs who illegally sell vacant berths was necessary because such conduct had resulted in the death of a passenger who was ultimately "only a victim of theft." It further observed that there were numerous unreported cases in which similar offences had led to grave medical consequences and reiterated that "the origin of such crimes is in the hands of the Travelling Ticket Examiners."

Case Title: Aloke Ghosh v. State of West Bengal & connected appeal (C.R.A. 498 of 2017 and C.R.A. 511 of 2017).

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