No jail, more fines: Bill seeks to amend penalties for minor offences in metros

The new penalties could become a reality once The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2022, which is now under Parliamentary scrutiny, clears the Parliament hurdle

Passengers misusing the alarm system or emergency stop system on a metro train may not have to go to jail but will have to pay an enhanced fine of Rs 10,000. Similarly, a metro official who comes to office drunk may also escape jail but will have to shell out more money as penalty.

These could become a reality once The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill 2022, which is now under Parliamentary scrutiny, clears the Parliament hurdle. This is part of the government’s plan to decriminalise and rationalise minor offences to further enhance trust-based governance for ease of living and doing business.

The Bill seeks to amend 183 provisions across 42 Acts, which also includes The Information and Technology Act and The Prevention of Money Laundering Act, administered by 19 ministries.

According to the amendments proposed in The Metro Railways (Operations and Maintenance) Act 2002, the Bill intends to do away with the one year jail term for those misusing the alarm system or emergency stop system on a metro train or interfering with any means of communications in a train.

Instead, the Bill proposes an increase of fine from the existing Rs 1,000 to Rs 10,000.

Those travelling on the roof of a metro train or projecting any part of the body out of a train after being warned by a metro official could end up paying Rs 5,000 fine but there will be no jail term. Earlier, the punishment was one jail term or a fine of Rs 50 or both.

A metro official coming to office in an intoxicated state will have to shell out Rs 10,000 as fine instead of Rs 250, according to the Bill.

Those officials who endanger the safety of any metro passenger by “any rash or negligent act, or omission” or “by disobeying any rule, regulation or order…” could face a one-year jail term or a fine of Rs 30,000 or both. At present, it is a five-year jail term or fine of Rs 6,000 or both.

If a passenger refuses to pay an excess charge of fare, the Bill says that a metro official could approach a Metropolitan Magistrate or First Class Judicial Magistrate, who could order for the recovery of the sum payable as if it were a fine. At present, a passenger could face a jail term of one month if he refuses to pay the excess charges raised against him.