CHENNAI: The State government on Thursday informed the Madras High Court that its August 22 order requiring the motor vehicle drivers to carry the original driving licences (DL) will not be implemented till Tuesday. Advocate- General Vijay Narayan gave this undertaking when a writ petition from TN Tipper Urimaiyalar Sammelanam, by its president T Ravichandran of West Tambaram, came up for hearing on Friday.
After recording the submission, Justice M Duraiswamy directed the government not to implement the notification till Tuesday and tagged the writ petition along with PILs on the same issue, which were expected to come up before the first bench that day. According to the petitioner, the move to make it mandatory to carry the original drivers’ licence would lead to a “chaotic situation in the transport industry”.
Till date no harm had been caused to anyone because of not carrying the original DLs. Carrying the original licence would increase the risk of loss, theft and misplacement, he said. The job of a driver of a transport vehicle involves serious risks. They have to take the responsibility for the goods, vehicle and its safe journey.
“In these circumstances, it is not safe to carry the original licence,” the petitioner contended. Getting a duplicate DL involved a tedious process and the drivers would face serious hardship. The instruction of the State Transport Authority would lead to driver abuse and they would be put to serious mental agony, besides affecting their livelihood, the petitioner asserted.
Revoke order, says Stalin
Advising to concentrate on steps such as addressing traffic congestion, establishing automatic signals and fitting cameras at signals, DMK leader M K Stalin demanded revocation of the order making it mandatory for motorists to keep the original DL while operating vehicles.