Centre Proposes Harsher Penalties Under Metro Rail Act

06 Apr 2026 CW Team

The Centre has proposed amendments to the Metro Railways (Operation and Maintenance) Act, 2002 through the Jan Vishwas Bill, 2026 that would recast several penal provisions as monetary penalties. The Bill was introduced in the Lok Sabha by the Minister of State for Commerce and Industry, Jitin Prasada. The measures seek to modernise the Act by increasing fines, refining definitions and updating statutory cross references.

In a technical change, the draft proposes to replace the reference to section 21 of the Indian Penal Code with clause 28 of section two of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023. The proposal updates chapter nomenclature by changing the heading of Chapter 11 from the existing phrase offence and penalties to offences and contraventions. The amendments aim to simplify enforcement by replacing short imprisonment terms with specified penalties.

Several penalty amounts would be increased. The fine for drunkenness, nuisance, spitting, sitting on the floor in a train or quarrelling under Section 59(1) and for taking offensive material under Section 60(1) would rise from Rs 500 to Rs 2,500. The existing provision that allowed imprisonment up to six months or a fine up to Rs 1,000 under Section 62(3) would be replaced by a penalty that may extend to Rs 10,000. Unlawful entry, including entering a coach reserved for women under Section 64(1), would move from imprisonment up to three months or a fine up to Rs 250 to a penalty up to Rs 5,000.

The proposals respond to reported incidents of commuters travelling intoxicated and passengers found on tracks, and to frequent breaches such as men entering female coaches. The Bill would define demonstration as a public display of group opinion that may include protests, rallies, marches, sit ins and picketing and which may disrupt Metro operations. A new definition of ticket would cover tokens, smart cards and multimodal transport cards authorised by the Metro rail administration.

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