Railways’ Aadhaar mandate for tatkal bookings sparks legal, privacy backlash
Experts call move unconstitutional, urge Railways to fix IRCTC’s technical glitches instead of imposing invasive e-Aadhaar verification.
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The Ministry of Railways’ recent mandate requiring e-Aadhaar authentication for Tatkal ticket bookings on the IRCTC platform has sparked widespread backlash from legal experts, digital rights advocates, and former bureaucrats. Critics argue that the move violates the constitutional right to privacy and fails to address the core issue plaguing Tatkal bookings—systemic technical failures on the IRCTC portal.
In a letter addressed to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC) recently raised serious concerns about the notification, stating that it is neither legally valid under the Aadhaar Act nor effective in resolving the actual issues faced by genuine users.
It is to be noted that starting July 1, 2025, users will need to link their Aadhaar with their IRCTC account to book Tatkal tickets online, with an additional Aadhaar-based OTP verification from July 15. This move aims to curb illegal bookings and fraudulent activities, but critics argue it infringes on user privacy and could disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.
“The primary difficulty in Tatkal bookings is not user identity verification, but the consistent crashing and inaccessibility of the IRCTC website during peak booking hours,” the SFLC pointed out, citing user experiences and polls that highlight near-universal frustration with the booking process.
A recent LocalCircles survey of over 55,000 respondents revealed that 73% of users are unable to secure Tatkal tickets within the first minute due to website slowdowns and failures, which effectively create a “digital lottery” that disproportionately disadvantages average users.
Former IT Secretary Aruna Sharma also weighed in, emphasizing that Aadhaar can be mandated only when a government benefit is involved, as established by the Supreme Court’s Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India ruling.
“Booking a train ticket does not qualify as a welfare benefit. This move expands the scope of Aadhaar beyond what the law permits,” Sharma noted.
The Puttaswamy judgement laid down a stringent three-fold test for Aadhaar usage by the state—legality, necessity, and proportionality—all of which, experts argue, the Tatkal mandate fails.
The SFLC stressed that there is no legislative backing authorizing the use of Aadhaar for Tatkal bookings, making the mandate constitutionally questionable. Furthermore, the policy risks excluding vulnerable populations who may lack Aadhaar access or face digital barriers to authentication.
While the Railway Ministry claims the mandate will curb fraudulent practices, digital rights groups argue that it misplaces the root cause. The SFLC lauded IRCTC’s previous success in using AI-powered bot detection to deactivate over 35 million fake user accounts and drastically reduce new fraudulent ID creation. These targeted technical interventions, they argue, are far more effective than Aadhaar mandates.
Instead of intrusive verification, stakeholders are urging the Ministry to focus on infrastructure upgrades and load balancing to make the IRCTC platform resilient under high traffic. A formal technical audit of the IRCTC website has also been proposed.
“This is a question of constitutional rights, digital accessibility, and fair governance. Aadhaar is not a silver bullet for administrative inefficiencies,” a digital expert noted.
With mounting pressure from civil society and technologists alike, the Railway Ministry now faces growing calls to roll back the Aadhaar mandate and reorient its efforts towards system-level improvements.
