New Delhi: The Ministry of Railways has moved a proposal to decriminalise begging at railway stations and trains as the provision of the Railway Act, 1989, is “seldom invoked and can often be used to harass people”, ThePrint has learnt.
According to sources in the ministry, the move is part of an exercise to review and rationalise penalties under the provisions of the Railway Act, 1989. The Railway Board has asked for suggestions on the proposal as well.
According to Section 144 of the Railway Act, if a person is found begging in a train or at a railway station, they could be imprisoned for a term that may extend to one year and/or be liable to pay a fine of up to Rs 2,000.
The Ministry of Railways has proposed to change this section to simply state that nobody will be allowed to beg in any railway carriage or on any part of the Railway’s property, without penalty.
“No person shall be permitted to beg in any railway carriage or upon any part of the Railway,” the ministry’s proposed amendment states.
Explaining the need for the change, a railway official said, “This Act is not used anyway … So it is better to do away with it since it is also an inhuman law, which criminalises and slaps fines on people who have no option but to beg. The Railways is reviewing the Act, so it was a good time to do away with this provision.”
ThePrint sent queries to Railways spokesperson for a comment on the proposal via WhatsApp, but there was no response until the time of publishing this report.
In 2018, while striking down a law that made begging a crime in the national capital, the Delhi High Court had observed that criminalising begging was the wrong approach to deal with the issue.
“The State simply cannot fail to do its duty to provide a decent life to its citizens and add insult to injury by arresting, detaining and, if necessary, imprisoning persons who beg in search for essentials of bare survival,” the court had said.
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Changes to smoking, ticketless travel offences
In addition to the change, the Railways is also considering amending Section 167 of the Act which prohibits smoking in a train compartment if another passenger objects to it.
The proposed amendment intends to do away with the procedure of a case and, instead, simply levy a spot fine of upto Rs 100.
The exercise is part of the central government’s review of laws in order to remove and amend redundant or outdated laws to reduce the burden on the judiciary, sources said.
According to officials, the Railway ministry might also make travelling without a ticket punishable only with penalties and without a jail term.
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