Supreme Court bins PIL for rail fare concessions to elderly

New Delhi, April 28

The Supreme Court on Friday dismissed a petition seeking restoration of train fare concessions offered to senior citizens by the Railways before the Covid, saying it’s a policy matter.

Incentive stopped during pandemic

The Railways used to offer 40% discount in fares to men aged 60 years or more and 50% to womenover 58 years of age prior to the Covid pandemic.

“It will not be appropriate for this court to issue a writ of mandamus in a petition under Article 32 of the Constitution. It is for the government to take a call on the issue keeping in mind the needs of the senior citizens and the fiscal repercussions,” a Bench led by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul said, dismissing the petition by MK Balakrishnan for restoration of the concessions.

Balakrishnan contended that the state had an obligation to grant concessions to the elderly but the Bench was not convinced. The Centre had in 2020 discontinued the concessions to discourage the movement of people to arrest the spread of Covid.