NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Centre asking whether the Motor Vehicles Act was applicable to the plying of battery operated e-rickshaws.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice R M Lodha said that the Centre has to tell “whether the Motor Vehicle Act and Rules are applicable to e-rickshaws or not?”
Hearing a PIL, the court asked Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar to apprise the court of it. The Bench issued notice to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and also to all states on a petition filed by Bibhash Karmakar seeking a ban on battery operated e-rickshaws which are illegally plying on roads. When the Bench wanted to know from the petitioner, why he has filed the petition, he replied that it was done so as the vehicles are plying without any registration and during accidents, cases are not registered under the proper law.
The plea alleged that some e-rickshaw sellers are deliberately violating the Central Motor Vehicle Rules by selling battery-operated vehicles across the country.