The Supreme Court on Monday allowed Delhi Police to use red beacon lights on its official vehicles after the Court modified its earlier decision restricting red beacon to high constitutional functionaries alone. An application by Delhi Police challenged the December 10, 2013 order issued by the apex court which allowed police, ambulance, fire and other emergency services to use beacon light which was blue, white or multicolour, but not red.
The bench, also comprising Justices AK Sikri and RK Agarwal, accepted the Delhi Police plea to use red beacon based on a mix of scientific reasoning and practical realties. Red light has the maximum wavelength, maximum scattering and thus has maximum penetration through dust, fog, night time or low visibility conditions. This theory has sound scientific basis under the Rayleigh Theory which states that intensity of light is inversely proportional to the wavelength.
Further, the application by the Delhi Police said that red colour has traditionally been used as a “cautionary sign” to alert people by both police and Army in the past. This even met their genuine operational necessities. Even globally, red colour is used to indicate danger and caution to public. The application cited examples of USA, Canada, Australia, Japan, and South Korea where red colour was used by police, ambulance and emergency services.
In its judgment passed in December 2013 the bench came down hard against the misuse of red beacons by all and sundry and limited its use to constitutional functionaries in the Union and state level. The Court gave three months time to Centre and states to enlist the high constitutional functionaries entitled to red beacon.