. Have you ever been troubled by handing over your driving license and ‘blue book’ to the police after violating traffic rules? It may not be a matter of the police deployed for traffic management to take such documents. Although the practice so far has been to check the documents of the drivers and impose fines during the traffic action, now both the drivers and the traffic drivers will not have this problem.
After the Supreme Court ruled that it was against the law to take the driver’s license, blue book, keys and other documents on the basis of violation of traffic rules, a new practice will be seen in traffic management and action.
A division bench of Justices Abdul Aziz Musalman and Shrikant Poudel issued the verdict on December 20, 2049 BS and ordered not to confiscate the driving license, blue book, documents and keys of the vehicles in violation of the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 2049 BS.
The verdict came on a writ petition filed by Bibek Chaudhary, a law student at Nepal Law College.
Petitioner Chaudhary had approached the court on July 19, 2081 with the complaint that the police had taken the license under control after violating the traffic light at Babarmahal and returned it only after 24 hours.
After discussing with all the concerned bodies, the court concluded that it was against the law to take the driver’s license, blue book, keys and other documents on the basis of violation of traffic rules.
The Traffic Police Office did not seem to have taken any decision to take the driving license of the drivers. “The court should not recognise the arbitrariness of a public official, it is necessary to control it,” the verdict reads, adding, “Where arbitrariness is encouraged, the rule of law is extinguished.” ‘
The court has also issued a directive order to stop such arbitrary and illegal activities as it has been found that the traffic police have been taking control of the driving license, blue book, key and other documents of the petitioner and other persons when the law does not permit them.
The verdict states, “A directive order has been issued in the name of the defendants not to take possession of the driver’s license, blue book and other documents and keys contrary to the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 2049÷2049.”
The apex court issued the order in the name of the Home Ministry, Nepal Headquarters and Kathmandu Valley Traffic Police Office.
Clause
164 of the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 1992 has a provision for immediate punishment by the transport inspector or police. (1) Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this Act, a traffic inspector or an officer of the rank of Assistant Police Inspector may impose a fine of Rs 500 for the first time violator, Rs 1,000 for the second time and Rs 1,500 for the third time or more than that.
Traffic police can impose fine on driving a vehicle violating traffic signal or signal, stopping a vehicle at a prohibited place or time, turning a vehicle in a place where a vehicle is prohibited to turn or give a sound signal, driving on the wrong side of the road, driving a vehicle contrary to the one-way road and operating a vehicle that is not in a good condition ।
Similarly, the police can impose a fine if the vehicle is driving at a speed more than the specified speed, driving without light at night, driving under the influence of alcohol, parking a motor vehicle in a public place causing obstruction to others, driving a motor vehicle at a prohibited place or time, driving a motor vehicle without a number plate and driving a motor vehicle more than the prescribed weight at a place where the weight of the vehicle is determined
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Driving a motor vehicle without wearing a belt or without helmet, driving a motor vehicle with more than one hundred thousand rupees as per the limit of people or goods in the motor vehicle, refusing to take a passenger, driving a motor vehicle with more than the prescribed fare rate, driving a motor vehicle recklessly, driving a public vehicle without a travel permit and driving a motor vehicle without a driving license shall be penalized ।
The court has explained that Section 164 of the Motor Vehicles and Transport Management Act, 1992 only gives the traffic police the power to impose fines, but the imposition of driving license by exceeding the powers prescribed by the law would unreasonably restrict the freedom of a person to move and carry on his profession.
“Article 18 of the Constitution of Nepal guarantees that all citizens shall be equal in the eyes of the law and no one shall be deprived of equal protection of the law.
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The court has said that any act that affects the rights or freedoms of an individual must be done on the basis of clear legal power and that which cannot be done directly cannot be done even indirectly.
The verdict reads, “In the absence of a legal provision to seize the driving license, blue book and key of the vehicle as a punishment for violation of the Motor Vehicle Rules, it is not justified to take possession of the driving license and other documents from the petitioner as the act affects the dignity of the person.”
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“Nowhere does the law give the traffic police the right to seize or seize the driving license or other documents related to the motor vehicle for violating the traffic rules,” the court said.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस्
