The Madurai bench of the Madras High court has come to the aid of a practising advocate, paralysed below the waist, directing transport authorities to consider afresh his application to register his modified car.The Regional Transport Office rejected his application as it did not have approval from Automotive Research Association of India, Pune.Justice P K Misra, in his order, said the RTO could not reject the application to register the vehicle because it had been modified by a local mechanic to suit the needs of physically challenged persons. Similarly they could not deny a driving licence to the applicant."A manufacturer, due to economic in viability, may not think of manufacturing carriages for invalid persons or physically challenged persons. There will be lack of demand for such vehicles. Hence only the local mechanic can handle such modifications," he said.Even if they do make such vehicles, a buyer could approach the local mechanic and still modify his vehicle to suit his convenience. "I don't see any restriction in altering the model of the vehicle", the judge said.He directed the RTO and Deputy Commissioner of Transport Department to consider anew the lawyer's application in the light of the observation in his order and take appropriate steps in four weeks.
