The Supreme Court has directed Indian Railways to extend passenger insurance coverage to tickets bought at railway station counters from October 27, 2026, bringing offline purchases in line with the existing cover for online bookings (ITIJ, Oct 19; News18 via Curly Tales; MySandesh).

A bench of Justices Ahsanuddin Amanullah and R. Mahadevan directed implementation within two weeks and warned the Railway Board would be held directly responsible for any failure to comply.

The order came in proceedings arising from the June 2023 Odisha train disaster, in which the court also criticised the pace of safety improvements including the Kavach automatic train protection system, track fencing and foot overbridges, and sought further evidence from the government on delays.

Reports note the Centre had told the court on May 11 it had decided to extend cover to counter tickets but the bench found little progress since. The matter will be reviewed again on November 16.

Sources: ITIJ (Oct 19, 2026), News18 via Curly Tales, MySandesh (Oct 19, 2026).