BJP MP Tejasvi Surya
Credit: PTI Photo
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Monday ordered notice to the state and union governments as well as the Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Limited (BMRCL) in a petition filed by LS Tejasvi Surya, BJP MP from the Bangalore South constituency.
The petitioner has sought a direction to the BMRCL to publish or release the report of the Fare Fixation Committee (FFC) headed by Justice (Retd) R Tharani. Justice S Sunil Dutt Yadav adjourned the hearing by two weeks.
During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner said that Surya had submitted three representations seeking the release of the fare fixation report, pursuant to which the BMRCL had come up with a revised fare.
The advocate further said that several media organisations had filed queries under the Right to Information Act. However, the BMRCL has refused to reveal the report.
“You (petitioner) are so powerful and cannot make the BMRCL release this report?” Justice Yadav remarked in a lighter vein. To this, the advocate responded that the petitioner himself had met the managing director of the BMRCL, and was informed that they would need approval to release the report.
The petition stated that as an instrumentality of the state, the BMRCL must ensure that its policy decisions are not exercised in an unreasonable and unfair manner so as to create hardship for the public at large. “Furthermore, rule of reason, rule against arbitrariness, rules of fair play and natural justice are part of the rule of law, applicable on actions taken by state instrumentalities in dealing with citizens,” the petition said.
The petitioner further claimed that he, as well as other fellow citizens of Bengaluru city, have a legitimate expectation of transparency in the functioning of the BMRCL based on established and consistent practice across metro rail corporations in the country.
The petitioner stated that metro rail corporations in Delhi, Mumbai, and Hyderabad have duly published such reports for the benefit of the general public, thereby reflecting transparency in public governance and decision-making processes.
The Fare Fixation Committee had submitted its report on December 16, 2024, after studying metro transportation systems in the country and globally, including Singapore and Hong Kong.
On February 9, 2025, the BMRCL implemented a substantial fare hike based on the report, increasing fares by up to 100 per cent in some cases, making Namma Metro the most expensive metro system in India, the petition further said.