BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday asked the state government whether a special drive can be held to check defective number plates of motor vehicles.
The division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Hemant Chandangoudar asked the government advocate to get instructions on a special drive, while hearing a public interest litigation filed by Dr KB Vijayakumar.
The petitioner has asked the Court to issue directions to the state government to enforce rules laid down in the Motor Vehicles Act and the Rules 50 and 51 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989. Rules 50 and 51 prescribe how number plates and registration marks must be displayed on vehicles.
Transport authorities and police department do not take action against such violators, as a result of which, it becomes difficult for victims of crimes such as chain snatching, etc., to easily identify fashionable/defective registration numbers written on number plates, the PIL said.
The state government filed objections before the court stating that transport authorities and police department routinely check for such violation, book cases against violators and collect penalties.
Between April 2018 and March 2019, transport authorities have checked 4,14,673 vehicles, booked 14,820 cases and collected penalty of Rs 34.13 lakh. From April 2019 to August 2019, 1,71,157 vehicles have been checked, 6,207 cases booked and Rs 12,17,900 collected in penalties. Therefore, the allegations made by the petitioner are baseless and incorrect, the state said.
HSRP scheme
The state also said that according to a central government notification dated December 6, 2018, vehicle manufacturers and dealers must affix High Security Registration Plates (HSRPs) on vehicles manufactured on or after April 1, 2019. Therefore in this regard, the state could not take any action.
Some companies have challenged the tender invited for the supply of HSRPs which is pending before the Court. Once the HSRP scheme commences ordinary registration plates on vehicles manufactured before April 1, 2019 will be replaced with HSRPs, and there will be no scope for defective number plates, the state said.