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Toolkit

Travel Discount:

Concession or

Right?

Are airlines and railways
justified in placing conditions on
concessional tickets for senior
citizens? Sonavi Kher Desai cites a
case study

In India, some airlines have been offering tickets at the railway station alone and
tickets to senior citizens at concessional restrictions on a change of the class of ticket
rates. In 2004, a senior citizen petitioned or extension of journey etc. were unjustified.
the Rajasthan High Court complaining that The Government filed an appeal against this
the following conditions were attached to order in the Supreme Court. Their lawyers
the concessions offered, which nullified argued that the judgement of the High
the concessions: The senior citizen (i) had Court proceeded on a completely fallacious
to apply 7 days in advance of the journey; basis as the concession was offered with
and (ii) was required to stay a minimum of certain conditions and it was not for the
two days at the outgoing destination to be court to interfere and decide what was more
eligible for the concessional return ticket. appropriate with regard to these matters.
The matter was taken up as a PIL by a They pointed out that policy matters were
Division Bench of the High Court and notice matters of administrative law and could
was issued to the said airline and also to not be a cause for interference by the court
Indian Railways which offers concession unless they could be said to be totally
to senior citizens, and the Government, arbitrary or violative of some statute or law
although no relief had been claimed against and as the concessions given were on the
the latter two. The Division Bench found that basis of the guidelines issued by the airlines,
the conditions imposed were unreasonable there was absolutely no justification for the
and directed the airlines not to insist on court’s to interfere in the matter.
the two conditions. The Bench opined that The lawyers for the senior citizen argued
the conditions placed by the railways with that it was unfair that a concession granted
regard to the purchase of concessional with one hand was being taken away by the

SENIORS TODAY | ISSUE #11 | MAY 2020 37