"Access to welfare benefits should not depend on a citizen's digital access." Discuss with reference to the SC's directive on railway travel insurance.

When public services are delivered "digital-first", the digital divide can become a welfare divide. The Supreme Court has directed that, from 27 October 2026, railway tickets sold at counters must carry travel insurance identical to online bookings. If this is not implemented, the Railway Board is liable [1]. The order supports the statement: a benefit must not depend on how a citizen buys a ticket.

Why a digital-only benefit fails the equity test

• Article 14: online and counter passengers on the same train face the same risk. Insuring only one group has no rational link to that risk, so the classification is not reasonable [1].
• Exclusion of the vulnerable: the Court noted that the "lowest strata of society" mostly buy tickets at counters [1]. The scheme covered only confirmed/RAC passengers booking online through IRCTC [2].
• Article 21: helping families recover after an accident is part of the right to live with dignity. The case began as a writ petition after the June 2023 Odisha (Balasore) accident [1].
• Accountability: the Court gave "sufficient time" and acted only after "no progress" [1]. This is continuing mandamus, not judges making policy.

Caveats and counter-arguments

• An existing safety net: Sections 124/124A of the Railways Act, 1989 already give all bona fide passengers no-fault compensation. Insurance is a top-up, not the only relief.
• Separation of powers: choosing the insurer and the premium is an executive decision. A deadline only weeks away leaves little time to change software and sign contracts [1].
• Residual exclusion: the order speaks of counter tickets [1]. Whether unreserved (UTS) passengers, often the poorest, are covered is still unclear [2].
• Insurance is not safety: the CAG found that derailments were about 69% of accidents in 2017–21, with poor track maintenance the leading cause [3]. The Railways put only ₹5,324.62 crore into the Rashtriya Rail Sanraksha Kosh (rail safety fund) against ₹25,000 crore due, and ₹823.14 crore went to non-priority works [4].

Way forward

• Provide the cover by default and free, as the Railways did earlier [5].
• Record nominee details at counters, and have railway staff file claims themselves after an accident.
• Name UTS tickets explicitly, and publish data on premiums collected and claims paid.

The directive shows that digital channels should widen entitlements, not ration them. Cover that is the same across booking channels, backed by real safety investment, would honour Articles 14 and 21 and SDG 10 (reduced inequalities). That would make Digital India inclusive by design rather than exclusive by default.