HYDERABAD: A division bench of the High Court on Monday sought a report from the transport commissioner of Telangana on the enforcement of compulsory wearing of helmet by all two-wheeler riders as per circular issued on September 2, 2015.
The bench, comprising acting chief justice Dilip B Bhosale and justice SV Bhatt, was dealing with a petition filed in 2010 by V Rama Rao, a resident of Ranga Reddy district.
As per Section 129 of MV Act,1988, wearing of “protective headgear” means a helmet conforming to BIS standards by every person driving or riding on a motorcycle of any class in a public place.
Special government pleader A Sanjeev Kumar said the transport commissioner had filed a counter-affidavit. The bench said the problem would not be solved with filing of the affidavit and asked the counsel to explain the steps taken to implement the Act.
The counsel replied that the government had issued a circular making wearing of helmet by all two-wheeler riders compulsory and also mandating purchase of helmet for registration of vehicles. Besides, it undertook an awareness campaign about helmet-wearing.
The bench then said “every one knows that the provision of compulsory purchase of helmet is for the benefit of manufacturers. There will not be any meaning in keeping helmet in-house even after compulsorily purchasing it. The authorities have to ensure that every rider has to wear it.”
The counsel said the authorities had booked about 92,000 cases since June 2014.
The bench directed that the commissioner to file a report after two weeks days explaining the results of implementation of the circular by all district transport authorities in the state, and posted the matter to September 21 for hearing.