“Why are the disabled denied the right to book railway tickets on Internet and avail concession when senior citizens can do the same,” questioned the Delhi High Court. The court has issued notices to the Railway Ministry and the Railway Board on what it called, a “serious and sensitive” issue.

The notices were issued after a visually challenged Delhi-based consultant Praveen Kumar filed a PIL that raised this question. The last day for the ministry and the board to file its responses is May 18.

Kumar’s lawyer Pankaj Sinha, himself visually challenged, submitted before a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justice  Sanjiv Khanna that “the differentiation was uncalled for.”

The Railways justified the denial of e-ticketing facility, saying the electronic reservation slip could be misused by general public by making false claims of disability.

But the court prima-facie found the argument untenable. Said Justice Khanna, “... those who avail the disability concession can be asked to produce the handicap certificate after boarding the train.”