Kerala Motor Vehicle Department is known for its strictness and actions against modified vehicles. Now, Kerala High Court has made a new ruling where it has asked MVD to issue challans or fines to vloggers recording from the driver’s cabin of moving vehicles, illegal modifications on cars, unauthorized LED lights on buses, and so on. The court has ordered the Transport Commissioner and the State Police Chief to ensure strict adherence to directives issued by it to address the rising concern of road safety.
The Division Bench, consisting of Justice Anil K. Narendran and Justice Harisankar V. Menon, highlighted that vehicles with illegal modifications such as unauthorized lights and aftermarket exhaust systems breach safety standards outlined in AIS-008 and contribute to pollution.
The court also mentioned that vlogging in the driver cabin of moving contract carriages, stage carriages, heavy goods vehicles, or other motor vehicles is dangerous as it disturbs the driver and distracts him from the road. Legal action would be taken against the driver of the vehicle along with the vlogger who recorded the video.
These violations are serious and demand action under Section 190(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, leading to potential disqualification of driving licenses. Along with the modifications, the High Court also spoke about the misuse of government department name boards and emblems on vehicles.
The use of state and national emblems on vehicles is strictly regulated under the State Emblem of India (Prohibition of Improper Use) Act, 2005, and the corresponding rules from 2007. Only a limited number of officials are permitted to use these emblems on their cars. The court said, “Many vehicles are seen plying in the State, carrying the name board ‘Government of India’, ‘Government of Kerala’, ‘Kerala State’, ‘Government Vehicle’, etc. to mislead the Police, the Enforcement Officers of the Motor Vehicles Department, by giving the impression that the said vehicles are owned by a Government Department.
Persons in such vehicles are pretending as if they are Government servants and they are misusing such name boards to escape from the checking of vehicles by Police and Enforcement Officers of the Motor Vehicles Department and to avoid payment of tolls at the toll booths and also the restrictions regarding parking or entry of vehicles.”
The court spoke about the illegal modifications in cars and also vehicles that are imported to the country via Carnet. They asked authorities to check if the vehicles violate safety, pollution, and noise standards. If so, the driver’s license should either be revoked or suspended. The vehicles should also be presented before the jurisdictional Magistrate Court for further proceedings.
The court also asked the owners of these vehicles to not showcase these modified vehicles in auto shows and to take action against those who post videos related to such modifications. The court has asked the police department to take strict action against violators.
The registration of the vehicles with excessive modifications will be either canceled or suspended. The court has also asked the enforcement department to collect video evidence from social media platforms to prove that these modified vehicles were being used on public roads.
