Indian Railways Tweaks Emergency Quota Rules, Big Relief For Passengers

Indian Railways has revised the rules for booking tickets under the Emergency Quota (EQ), making it mandatory for passengers to send their requests earlier than before. This change follows the Railway Ministry's recent decision to prepare reservation charts 8 hours before train departure to improve operational efficiency.

Emergency quota seats are reserved for VIPs, railway staff, and passengers with medical emergencies. However, misuse of this facility and last-minute requests often delayed chart preparation, affecting the confirmation of waiting list tickets and causing inconvenience to passengers.

Under the new rule, passengers seeking an EQ ticket must now submit their request at least a day in advance. 

"Emergency quota request for all the trains leaving between 0000 hours and 1400 hours should reach EQ cell up to 1200 hours on the previous day of journey," said a circular issued by the ministry on Tuesday.

"Emergency quota request for all the remaining trains leaving between 14.01 hours and 23.59 hours should reach EQ cell up to 1600 hours on the previous day of journey," it added.

The ministry has clarified that the requests received on the same day of the scheduled departure of a train will not be entertained.

Regarding Sundays or any other public holidays, the ministry has said the requests for the release of accommodation in trains, for which the emergency quota is to be released on Sundays or clubbed holidays after Sundays, should be given during office hours on the previous working day.

The circular said the reservation cell of the Railway Board receives a large number of requests from VIPs, railway officers, senior officers and other departments.

"All efforts are made to allot the quota judiciously and with common prudence," it said.

The ministry has urged all officers to adhere to these timings so that the allotments are given in time and chart preparation is not delayed, which not only results in extreme difficulties to the travelling public but can also lead to a delay in the departure of trains.

It has also requested the forwarding authority to ensure the genuineness of the person under reference and also ensure strict compliance to existing guidelines regarding the allotment of the emergency quota.

The move is aimed at streamlining the ticketing process, ensuring charts are prepared on time, and improving punctuality. For common passengers, this change means they will know the confirmation status of their waiting list tickets earlier, reducing uncertainty before travel. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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"Apologise": Court As Cop Gets Husband, Father-In-Law Jailed In False Cases

An IPS officer has been asked to issue an unconditional public apology to her former husband and in-laws for the "physical and mental agony" they underwent after she filed multiple criminal cases against them during a marital dispute. While ordering this, the Supreme Court also cancelled all the ongoing cases. 

The Bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih also dissolved the marriage since the couple were separated since 2018. The court ordered that their daughter will stay with her mother and the husband and family members will be able to meet her.

In its verdict, the court said the husband had to spend 109 days and his father 103 days in jail due to criminal cases filed by the wife. "What they have suffered cannot be compensated in any way," the court said, ordering the officer to tender a public apology.

"The woman and her parents shall tender an unconditional apology to her husband and his family members, which shall be published in the national edition of a well-known English and a Hindi newspaper," said the judges.

This apology shall also be published and circulated on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other similar social media platforms within 3 days of the order, the judges said. It would not be construed as an admission of liability and shall have no effect on the legal rights, obligations or consequences arising under the law. 

The court also asked the woman "not to use her position and power" or that of her colleagues to initiate any proceedings against the husband and his family. The husband was warned not to use her apology in any manner either.

The woman had filed separate criminal cases against the husband and his family and a parallel one in the family court for divorce and maintenance. Her husband too, had filed tit-for-tat cases. Besides, there were cases filed by third parties. 

Both husband and wife had filed an application in the Supreme Court to transfer the cases to their respective jurisdiction.

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Indian Techie Claims Boss Made Work Life A "Mess" For Rejecting His Proposal

An Indian tech professional has alleged that her European manager, who is married, began targeting her professionally after she rejected his romantic advances. In a viral Reddit post, the woman claimed that her married boss started delaying her salary and micromanaging her, turning her professional life "a mess." The employee, who works remotely for a small 10-employee company, alleged that her European manager confessed to having romantic feelings during a one-on-one call earlier this year. After she rejected him, he reportedly began throwing tantrums, negatively impacting her work life.

"Turns out he got hurt & told somebody, and that somebody moulded his mind or something, that he should let me go, that now this boss is throwing all sorts of tantrums at me, questioning my every move, work, etc. He even remarked, she doesn't work, just clocks in on time. I don't know if the person suggested letting me go emotionally, or if this boss just doesn't have enough balloons to own his feelings & is trying all sorts to get me out of the job because I broke his heart. I just want to keep things professional," the post read. 

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The woman further alleged that her manager displays jealous behaviour, particularly when she interacts with male colleagues. He frequently checks in on her when she's offline, questioning her well-being. Professionally, she has faced challenges, including delayed salaries, tasks outside her role, and public reprimands for mistakes she didn't make, suggesting that he's using work-related issues to express personal resentment.

"Apparently, he may have developed feelings as early as December, and instead of handling it maturely, he's now making things difficult for me professionally. Earlier, he had given me a couple of days off without deducting leave — I thought it was because of my performance and loyalty, but now I wonder if it was something else," he added.

Due to her current role's flexibility, which allows her to spend more time with her family, she's unable to consider switching jobs despite the toxic work environment. "I've held on to this job mainly because it's remote, gives me flexibility with family responsibilities, and is financially efficient (lower taxes, etc.). But this emotional back-and-forth is becoming unbearable. The job market is not great right now, so switching is tough," she added.

Many expressed solidarity with her and criticised the company's handling of the situation. One user said, "The best thing for you to do would perhaps be to prepare for packing your bags from here and joining somewhere else. Since he is your boss, even POSH will not be taken seriously because HRs work for companies and not for employees. I know what I am suggesting sounds like running, but we are just bunnies in this world, and we gotta act in our interests. Start preparing and switch if possible."

Another commented, "Pick up your stuff and leave the company, now it will become more toxic than ever with this in, protect your mental wellbeing."

A third added, "Job switch is the only option. That is the sad reality."

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Why Was India vs Pakistan WCL 2025 Match Cancelled - Explained

A veterans' cricket match in Birmingham involving India and Pakistan in the World Championship of Legends was cancelled after Indian players, including Shikhar Dhawan, refused to be a part of it citing the Pahalgam terror attack in April. The second edition of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) tournament, which is co-owned by Bollywood star Ajay Devgn, started on June 18 at Edgbaston here and is scheduled for an August 2 final. World Cup winner Yuvraj Singh is the captain of the India Champions, while the squad also features the likes of Dhawan, Harbhajan Singh, Yusuf Pathan, Irfan Pathan, Suresh Raina, Robin Uthappa and Varun Aaron among others.

The WCL organisers shared a statement on their X account, detailing the decision of cancellation and said their intention while conducting the match was to recreate some "happy memories." "After hearing the news that the Pakistan hockey team will be coming to India this year, and seeing the recent India vs Pakistan volleyball match along with a few other fixtures between the two nations in different sports, we thought of continuing with the India vs Pakistan match at WCL, just to create some happy memories for people around the globe.

"But maybe in the process, we ended up hurting the feelings of many and stirring emotions," the WCL statement read.

The Pakistan team has in its ranks captain Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Sohail Tanvir, Wahab Riaz, Kamran Akmal among a host of yesteryear players.

The organisers also apologised for "unintentionally causing discomfort" to Indian legends.

"Hence, we have decided to call off the India-Pakistan match. We sincerely apologise again for hurting the sentiments and hope people will understand that all we ever wanted was to bring a few happy moments to the fans," it read.

Former India opener Dhawan also shared a statement on X, announcing his stand not to participate in the match against Pakistan.

"This is to formally reiterate and confirm that Mr. Shikhar Dhawan will not be participating in any matches against the Pakistan team in the upcoming WCL League. This decision was communicated earlier during our discussion on call and WhatsApp dated 11th May 2025," read his statement.

Dhawan made it clear that he has taken the call in view of the current "geopolitical" situation between India and Pakistan in the aftermath of Pahalgam terror attack and the ensuing Operation Sindoor carried out by the country.

Operation Sindoor had led to a brief military showdown between the two arch foes before India agreed to halt its operations on Pakistan's request for a cease fire. "In view of the current geopolitical situation and the prevailing tensions between India and Pakistan, Mr. Dhawan and his team have taken this position after due consideration.

"We respectfully request the league's understanding and cooperation on this matter," he said in the statement.

Off-spin legend Harbhajan, a sitting Rajya Sabha MP, Yusuf, who is also a Member of Parliament, and Irfan too have conveyed their decision to boycott the match against Pakistan, though they are yet to issue a statement in this regard.

The players received a lot of flak on social media for agreeing to the play against the Pakistan team.

India had defeated Pakistan by five wickets to win the inaugural edition of the six-team legends tournament last year in Edgbaston.

While India does not engage with Pakistan in any bilateral sporting activities because of the existing geopolitical scenario, the two nations often meet each other at various levels of competitions featuring Olympic sports.

In fact, the Indian government has given its approval for Pakistan's participation in several major events to be hosted in India this year, including the Hockey Asia Cup (August), Junior Hockey World Cup (November–December), Junior Shooting World Cup (September), and the World Para Athletics Championships (October).

The reason being that any move to block Pakistan, in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack that killed 26 tourists, would have been a violation of the Olympic charter, which is like a constitution for the Olympic Movement.

Rule 44 of the Charter specifically prohibits National Olympic Committees from excluding athletes based on "racial, religious or political reasons". Failure to grant visas can lead to "international isolation and loss of hosting rights for future events." In cricket, India and Pakistan do not engage in bilateral series, limiting their face-offs to global ICC events such as the World Cup and Champions Trophy.

A hybrid hosting model was introduced during this year's Champions Trophy, under which India played its matches at a neutral venue — Dubai — while the rest of the tournament was held in Pakistan.

Following that precedent, Pakistan will play all its matches in Colombo during the Women's ODI World Cup this year. The tournament is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka.

However, the men's Asia Cup, tentatively set for September in the T20 format, remains in uncertainty as venue for the India-Pakistan clash is yet to be identified.

The BCCI has said unequivocally that it will not attend the Asian Cricket Council meeting, intended to thrash out a working model, if it is held in Dhaka.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

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