Software Freedom Law Center, India (SFLC.in) wrote to the Ministry of Railway regarding the recent announcement mandating e-Aadhaar authentication for booking Tatkal tickets on the IRCTC platform.
SFLC.in urged the Ministry of Railways to reconsider and suspend the implementation of mandatory e-Aadhaar authentication for Tatkal bookings. Furthermore, the Ministry can take steps to enhance infrastructure capacity and improve load balancing on the IRCTC website to address the root causes of website failures, thereby ensuring a fair and accessible booking process for all.
Read the full letter below.
To,
Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw Date: 9 June, 2025
Hon’ble Minister for Railways
Ministry of Railways
Rail Bhawan
Raisina Road,
New Delhi – 110001
Subject: Request to Reconsider Mandatory e-Aadhaar Authentication for Tatkal Ticket
Booking
Respected Sir,
We write to bring to your attention our serious concerns regarding the recent announcement mandating e-Aadhaar authentication for booking Tatkal tickets on the IRCTC platform. While the stated objective is to ensure fairness in Tatkal bookings and to curb fraudulent practices, we believe that this approach is misplaced and does not address the real challenges faced by genuine users.
Public reports and user experiences, such as those shared by Dr. A. Velumani, founder of Thyrocare, highlight that the primary difficulty in Tatkal bookings is the consistent crashing and inaccessibility of the IRCTC website at the crucial moment of booking opening, not the verifiability of users. The issue lies in the system’s inability to handle the high demand, with websites crashing at 10:00 AM and recovering mysteriously by 10:04 AM, by which time the tickets have already vanished.
This systemic failure is echoed in multiple user surveys and independent reporting. For instance, a LocalCircles poll of over 55,000 users confirmed that 73% of travelers experience ticket unavailability within the first minute of Tatkal booking due to the website’s inability to handle high traffic. Furthermore, reports have shown that the core problem is the “digital lottery” environment created by these technical failures, not unverified or fraudulent users. Surveys indicate that a large majority of users experience these technical failures, which result in the site becoming virtually unusable during the short window of availability. These systemic shortcomings, not user verification, are the crux of the problem.
Mandating Aadhaar-based authentication in this context not only overlooks the real cause of booking failures but also imposes a significant and unjustifiable burden on users’ fundamental right to privacy, as guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution of India. The Supreme Court in Justice K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India firmly held that any state-mandated use of Aadhaar must meet the threefold test of legality, necessity, and proportionality. This means there must be a clear legislative mandate authorizing the use of Aadhaar, the measure must be the least intrusive method of achieving a legitimate state aim, and the measure must strike a fair balance between individual rights and state interests.
In the present case, there is no explicit statutory provision within the Aadhaar Act or any other law that authorizes the use of Aadhaar for Tatkal ticket bookings. The notification by itself does not satisfy the requirement of legislative backing as laid down in Puttaswamy and subsequent rulings by the Supreme Court. Moreover, even if the aim of fairness in ticket booking is recognized as legitimate, the actual problem here is not user authentication but technical limitations of the booking platform, server crashes, high demand, and misuse of automated scripts. Aadhaar-based verification does not address these root causes and therefore fails the test of necessity.
Further, the measure is far from proportionate. It places an undue burden on millions of travelers who either do not have Aadhaar linked to their IRCTC accounts or face legitimate difficulties in using Aadhaar for online verification. It also risks the exclusion of vulnerable populations who may already face digital or infrastructural barriers. This disproportionate intrusion on privacy and the right to access public services without adequate justification renders the policy constitutionally indefensible. In essence, rather than solving the real, systemic issues plaguing Tatkal bookings, the move expands the scope of Aadhaar usage beyond what the law permits, at significant cost to fundamental rights and principles of fairness.
It is encouraging to note that IRCTC and the Ministry have already taken significant steps to curb fraudulent practices by deploying AI-driven bot detection systems and deactivating over 35 million fake user IDs. The creation of new user IDs has already dropped drastically from over 60,000–65,000 per day to just 10,000–12,000, showing that targeted technical solutions are effective in combating misuse without resorting to invasive Aadhaar mandates. Furthermore, efforts to enhance infrastructure capacity and load balancing on the IRCTC website can address the root causes of website failures, ensuring a fair and accessible booking process for all.
In light of the above, we urge you to reconsider and suspend the implementation of mandatory e-Aadhaar authentication for Tatkal bookings. Instead, we request that your Ministry commission a technical audit of the IRCTC booking platform to identify and rectify the causes of these booking failures and continue to strengthen bot detection and related technical solutions.\
About SFLC.in
SFLC.in is the first Indian legal services organization that works exclusively on technology, law, and policy. As a not-for-profit organization engaged in empowering Indian citizens with digital freedom and rights, we operate as a collective that brings together stakeholders to further the cause of digital rights. We remain committed to assisting policymakers in making informed and just decisions regarding the use and adoption of technology.
Thank you for your attention to this critical issue.
Yours sincerely,
SFLC.in
Enclosure: News Article highlighting the requirement of e-Aadhaar Authentication for Tatkal Ticket Booking
Copy to:
Hon’ble Secretary,
Ministry of Railways
Rail Bhawan
Raisina Road,
New Delhi – 110001
