Government clips traffic police wings over impounding of vehicles

Government says auto and cab drivers will no longer be punished for overcharging, refusing to ply, driving without PSV badges or not wearing uniform

Although the decision was taken in a meeting of the State Transport Authority (STA) held on Tuesday, the government is yet to notify the decision and, hence, will not be implemented immediately.

In a move expected to bring relief to auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in the capital, the Delhi government has decided to withdraw the powers of the Delhi Traffic Police to book these drivers for minor offences like overcharging, refusing to ply, driving without PSV badges or not wearing a uniform.

Although the decision was taken in a meeting of the State Transport Authority (STA) held on Tuesday, the government is yet to notify the decision and, hence, will not be implemented immediately.

A senior government official said under Rule 66/192 A of the Motor Vehicle Act, the traffic police had special powers to fine or impound vehicles for minor traffic violations like driver not wearing a uniform, refusal to ply, not picking up a passenger at a stand, and/or not displaying traffic police or transport department helpline numbers. The offences are non-compoundable.

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Explaining the reason behind the move, a government official said, “Let us take the example of an auto-rickshaw driver who is not in uniform. He may not be able to afford three sets of uniform. If it has gone for a wash, the driver has no choice but to be without a uniform. In such a case, he should not be penalised.”

The official said plying without a valid permit is still a serious offence and the traffic police will continue to take action in cases of such serious violations.There is also no bar on police acting against drink driving, driving without a licence or driving with an expired permit.

“The only thing this will ensure is that these drivers do not face unnecessary harassment in the garb of police action against permit violations,” the official said.

The official said the alternate power to take action was given to the sub-divisional magistrates by the Supreme Court in 1998.

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General secretary of the Delhi Autorickshaw Sangh and the Delhi Pradesh Taxi Union Rajendra Soni said, “There have been cases in which an auto-rickshaw parked in a ‘No parking’ area was impounded for 15 days. The driver had to go to the court, deposit a fine of Rs 2,000 to get his vehicle back and he had to be without any source of income for 15 days. We have been demanding that these powers be taken away from the traffic police. We are glad about the government’s decision.”

Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander said, “We objected to the move but we were overruled by a majority. We raised the points that the move would give auto-rickshaw drivers leeway to misbehave, refuse passengers and overcharge. It will be detrimental to safety of women.”

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