Legal Question in Business Law in India

The train passenger books meal on web portal.

The web portal has tie up with various restruants all over india.

The portal passes on the oder to restruants

The restruants deliver the meal to the passenger to his seat at a given station. They enter railway platform using plat form ticket.

The portal or restruants do not canvas sell or offer to sell vend hawk food in train or platform ( therefore portal or restruants need not take licence.)

The tender and licences issued by railways to caterers restruants stalls trolly vendors is for them to sell the food in train and on platform they offer to sell.this facility is for the benefit of train passengers so that they get reasonably priced food.

But issuing tender and licence it gives them a right to sell but not protection from outside restruants whom the passengers have chosen to transact and get delivery of food.

The passenger has all the right to buy order food from rrstruants of his choice. He cannot be compelled to buy only from railway licenced caterers and food plazas

Therefore if railway restricts outside restruants from delivering the food to passengers it will amount to restricting the passenger . ( if outside restruants bring food packets on platform and start hawking it vending it selling it offering to sell in general to any body in train or on platform then its illegal.) But outside restruants merely entering platform with valid platform ticket to deliver food to a particular passanger or group of passenger to execute the order booked on line through web portal cannot be called for to take licence.

The railways do not put or print on tickets restricting passengers to buy food from outside like-outside food not allowed

The railways do not put any sign board in the train for passengers that outside food is not allowed .

Therefore on the basis of above is it safe to tell that the web portal who book the meal or get orders from train passengers through phone or online need not obtain any sort of licence or permission from railways.

Similarly the restruants who only delivers the food to the passengers also need not obtain licence or permission from railways.

There fore the business of web portal and the restruant is valid and legal

The all india caterers should not have any objection on this type of business and they should compete instead of complaining.

In one case the all india railway caterers have complained to cyber police station against one such web portal that the portal is carrying its business without valid licence from railways.

Whether the all india caterers association is right in complaining to police.?? Or they should have complained to railway authority.

If the business is illegal then how travel khan.com and mera food choice.com are running the business through out india by tieing up out side restaurants . And there business venture is being funded by venture capitalist and their business format is widely discussed promoted by media.

Your esteemed views and comments will be highly appreciated and respected.

Hoping for a positive response

Thanks and regards


Asked on 6/20/14, 4:47 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Fca Prashant Chavan Expert Edge LLP

21.06.2014

Dear Sir / Madam,

Since the food is being delivered to the passenger in Railway property, a license from the Railways granting permission to deliver food to the passenger on the train is necessary.

Regards,

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Answered on 6/21/14, 6:34 am


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