Motor Vehicles Act: Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea For Upgradation Of Technology To Detect Traffic Violations

The Delhi High Court has recently issued notice on a PIL seeking adequate technological infrastructure for monitoring traffic violations under the Motor Vehicles Act.The petition filed by Sonali Karwasara states that there have been several lacunas in efficient implementation of the Motor Vehicle Amendment Act, 2019, which imposes hefty fines for traffic violations, owing to the obsolete and outdated technologies used by the authorities to detect traffic violation by the common public."I'm all for the Act being implemented and changes brought about it. But hefty fines are imposed under the Act. So, the technology needs to be updated to that level. Otherwise, the people feel cheated," the Petitioner appearing in person stated at the outset.The Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh has issued notices to the Union of India through the Road Transport Ministry and the Delhi Government, and has posted the matter for hearing on March 28, 2022.The plea alleges that the infrastructure for detection of violation of Traffic Rules and the Technology used in the country is not standardized and the same has led to various instances wherein hefty fines have been issued on innocents, due to the faulty equipment and technology used by the Traffic Police.It adds,"The speed-limit violation detection technology, the drunken driving breath analyzing technology and the red-light violation technology are not in accordance to the changing times which requires advanced technology instead of the ones which are already in use and suffer from lack of any standardization in India."In this context, the petitioner recalls an incident where a person was challaned four times for jumping one single red light."It is unfathomable that a car can jump one red light four times within five seconds, however, the person slapped with this challan is left with no other option but to pay the challan online as no option for challenging the same in court is available on the website," the Petitioner states.Thus, it is contended that need of the hour is to ensure standardization of technology used in monitoring traffic violations and proper Guidelines/Rules in consonance with international standards for the efficient implementation of the Motor Vehicles Amendment Act, 2019 which has introduced hefty fines for traffic violations."Innocent civilians have fallen prey to the deficiencies contained in advanced infrastructure and as a consequence thereof, inequitable penalties have been imposed on the public at large in accordance to the amended Motor Vehicles Act," the plea avers.Case Title: Sonali Karwasara v. Union of India & Ors.

Motor Vehicles Act: Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea For Upgradation Of Technology To Detect Traffic Violations

Akshita Saxena

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