Railways Act, 1989 · Chapter XV: Penalties and Offences
Section 144: Prohibition on hawking, etc., and begging
(1) If any person canvasses for any custom or hawks or exposes for sale any article whatsoever in any railway carriage or upon any part of a railway, except under and in accordance with the terms and conditions of a licence granted by the railway administration in this behalf, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one year, or with fine which may extend to two thousand rupees, or with both:
Provided that, in the absence of special and adequate reasons to the contrary to be mentioned in the judgment of the court, such punishment shall not be less than a fine of one thousand rupees.
[(2) No person shall be permitted to beg in any railway carriage or upon any part of the railway.]
(3) Any person referred to in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) may be removed from the railway carriage or any part of the railway or railway station, as the case may be, by any railway servant authorised in this behalf or by any other person whom such railway servant may call to his aid.
Source: India Code (indiacode.gov.in), the consolidated text published by the Legislative Department, Government of India. Text as updated on India Code on 14 October 2026. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 144
No Supreme Court judgment in our database cites this section yet.