The Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has dismissed rumors about e-ticket booking restrictions.

In a statement, IRCTC clarified that claims suggesting passengers with different surnames cannot book tickets together are entirely "false and misleading." 

According to IRCTC, tickets can be booked on personal user IDs for friends, family, and relatives without any surname-related constraints. They emphasised that bookings are conducted according to Railway Board Guidelines, which are publicly accessible. 

The IRCTC stated that users can book tickets for up to 12 persons per month. If the booking is done by Aadhaar-authenticated users and at least one passenger on the ticket is also Aadhaar-authenticated, this limit extends to 24 tickets. 

Users are also cautioned against using their user IDs for commercial purposes, as this is strictly prohibited under Section 143 of the Railways Act, 1989, and can result in legal consequences. Only authorised agents are permitted to book tickets for commercial use. 

The recent clarification from IRCTC addresses unfounded rumours that booking train tickets for friends or relatives with different surnames could lead to severe penalties under Section 143 of the Railways Act. These rumours falsely suggested that booking tickets for individuals not sharing blood relations or the same surname could result in imprisonment or hefty fines. 

In reality, Section 143 of the Indian Railways Act is aimed at unauthorised ticketing businesses and does not pertain to personal bookings made by individuals for their friends or relatives, regardless of surname differences. Indian Railways has not issued any orders restricting ticket bookings based on surname criteria. These claims have been thoroughly debunked by IRCTC to reassure the public about the validity of their ticket booking practices. 

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