The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, 10 July, dismissed a petition challenging the AAP government's proposal to make metro rides free for women, reported PTI.
A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice C Hari Shankar declined to entertain the plea, saying there is no substance in it and imposed a cost of Rs 10,000 on the petitioner.
The court also rejected the prayer in the petition seeking reduction of fares and to make 15 slabs of the ticket price instead of existing six.
The Petitioner's Argument
The petitioner had argued that if Mumbai metro can reduce fares, the same could be done for the Delhi metro, according to Moneycontrol.
Further, the petitioner contended that the reduction in fares would not impact the revenue of the Delhi <etro and help decongesting traffic and curb pollution in the city.
Counterview
Rejecting the petition, the court observed that the policy is still under consideration and therefore premature to counter it.
“Fixation of fares is a statutory provision and it depends on several factors including cost which cannot be determined in a PIL,” the bench said.
The Backdrop
The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi had proposed free rides for women in public transport buses and Delhi Metro trains on 3 June.
Speaking at a press conference, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said, "On all DTC buses, cluster buses and metro trains women will be allowed to travel free of cost so that they have a safe travel experience and can access modes of transport which they were not able to, due to high prices.”
“Public transport has been considered the safest mode of travel,” he added.
He also said that women who are able to afford the tickets for buses and metro trains should buy them, making the scheme a voluntary one. Kejriwal also said that the government is looking to implement the decision in the next “2-3 months” and has asked the officers to submit a detailed report within a week.
(With inputs from PTI and Moneycontrol.)
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