THE RAILWAYS ACT, 1989 – Chapter XV – Section 138

138. Levy of Excess Charge and Fare for Travelling Without Proper Pass or Ticket or Beyond Authorized Distance
(1) If any passenger:-

(a) Being in or having alighted from a train, fails or refuses to present for examination or to deliver up his pass or ticket immediately on a demand being made therefor under section 54, or
(b) Travels in a train in contravention of the provisions of section 55,
he shall be liable to pay, on the demand of any railway servant authorized in this behalf, the excess charge mentioned in sub-section (3) in addition to the ordinary single fare for the distance which he has travelled or, where there is any doubt as to the station from which he started, the ordinary single fare from the station from which the train originally started, or, if the tickets of passengers travelling in the train have been examined since the original starting of the train, the ordinary single fare from the place where the tickets were so examined or in the case of their having been examined more than once, were last examined.

(2) If any passenger:-

(a) Travels or attempts to travel in or on a carriage, or by a train, of a higher class than that for which he has obtained a pass or purchased a ticket; or
(b) Travels in or on a carriage beyond the place authorized by his pass or ticket,
he shall be liable to pay, on the demand of any railway servant authorized in this behalf, any difference between the fare paid by him and the fare payable in respect of the journey he has made and the excess charge referred to in sub-section (3).

(3) The excess charge shall be a sum equal to the amount payable under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), as the case may be, or 1[two hundred and fifty rupees], whichever is more:
Provided that if the passenger has with him a certificate granted under sub-section (2) of section 55, no excess charge shall be payable.

(4) If any passenger liable to pay the excess charge and the fare mentioned in sub-section (1), or the excess charge and any difference of fare mentioned in sub-section (2), fails or refuses to pay the same on a demand being made therefor under one or other of these sub-sections, as the case may be, any railway servant authorized by the railway administration in this behalf may apply to any Metropolitan Magistrate or a Judicial Magistrate of the first or second class, as the case may be, for the recovery of the sum payable as if it were a fine, and the Magistrate if satisfied that the sum is payable shall order it to be so recovered, and may order that the person liable for the payment shall in default of payment suffer imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to one month but not less than ten days.

(5) Any sum recovered under sub-section (4) shall, as and when it is recovered, be paid to the railway administration.

Forward reference⇒ Section 139