No more court burdens, Railways introduce 'On the spot' fines

KOCHI: The Railway Protection Force (RPF) started collecting fines directly in petty cases from June 20. Only if refused to pay, a case will be registered, and further proceedings will take place in court. The new rules come after the central government's Jan Vishwas amendment that replaces imprisonment with civil penalties, introduces grace periods for licenses, and establishes adjudicating officers to reduce court burdens

RPF officers from Asst. Sub Inspector and above can collect fines. Earlier, fines were directly collected only for smoking and unsanitary conditions at railway stations. In other cases, the accused had to pay the fine in the Railway Magistrate's Courts.

Within the first 10 days, Rs 3.13 lakh was collected in Palakkad division and Rs 7.04 lakh in Thiruvananthapuram division. Earlier, the state government received 30 per cent of the fines collected in railway courts and 50 per cent in railways. With the start of collecting fines by the RPF, the railways will receive the entire amount.

QR code soon

RPF officials accept fines in cash. Officials have been instructed not to collect money in personal UPI accounts. QR codes will be ready for passengers to pay fines within three months.

Crime, Fine (Rs)

• Illegal parking-500
• Smoking-2000
• Trespassing-500
• Entering women's coach -2500
• Illegal trading, begging-2000
• Travelling in reserve coaches and air-conditioned coaches with ordinary tickets / Travelling in coaches for differently-abled persons-2000
• Illegal installation of notices and boards in stations and surroundings-2000