The Centre has proposed amendments to the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 through the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Bill, 2026 to increase penalties for certain offences. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada. The draft seeks to replace some criminal punishments with monetary penalties, to raise fine amounts, to add definitions and to update statutory references.

The Bill proposes substituting the reference to section 21 of the Indian Penal Code with clause (28) of section two of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. Sections 59(1) and 60(1), which cover drunkenness, nuisance, spitting, sitting on the floor in the train, quarrelling and taking offensive materials, would see fines replaced by penalties that may extend to Rs 2,500.

The draft would replace the provision in Section 62(3) that allowed imprisonment of up to six months or a fine of up to Rs 1,000, or both, with a penalty that may extend to Rs 10,000 for writing or pasting material in compartments and refusing to remove it. Section 64(1), relating to unlawful entry including entering a coach reserved for women, would replace imprisonment of up to three months or a fine of up to Rs 250, or both, with a penalty that may extend to Rs 5,000.

A new clause (ba) in Section two(1) is proposed to define demonstration as a public display of group opinion or feelings involving protests, rallies, marches, gatherings or processions, sit-ins and picketing that may disrupt Metro operations and inconvenience the public. A new clause (t) would define ticket as any authority to travel including token, smart card, multimodal transport card or any other travel instrument authorised by the Metro rail administration. The chapter heading in Chapter XI is proposed to be changed from Offence and Penalties to Offences and Contraventions. The amendments are presented as measures to streamline enforcement and to deter misconduct on the Metro.