Over 11,000 driving licences (Dls) have been confiscated in Delhi in the last ten days for violating traffic rules following the implementation of a Supreme Court-appointed panel’s instructions on road safety. The Dls will be suspended for three months thereby prohibiting flouters from driving their vehicles for the same period of time.
Special Commissioner of Police (Traffic) Muktesh Chander said, “So far, 11,017 licences of drivers who have violated traffic rules have been seized since December 15.”
On December 15, Delhi Traffic Police implemented the instructions of the SC-appointed panel under which Dls of traffic violators are to be seized on the spot and suspended for at least three months for offences like speeding, drunken driving, use of mobile phones while driving and carrying of passengers in goods vehicles.
The Delhi Police is so far the only force in the country to have implemented the directions of the three-member SC-appointed committee chaired by Justice KS Radhakrishnan, a senior official claimed.
The Pioneer had last month reported that paying just Rs 100 challan won’t let you off the hook for violating traffic rules from now on as a SC Committee on Road Safety has empowered Delhi Traffic Police to seize the driving licences of traffic violators.
The committee had recommended that the driving licences of errant drivers be suspended for three months for violations like over-speeding, jumping red lights and using phone while driving. It had also recommended jail-time for serious violations like driving recklessly or under the influence of alcohol.
However, since only Transport Department can suspend a driving licence, Traffic Police could only recommend the cancellation of the licence to the Transport Department and had no powers earlier to seize the licence.
So the traffic police used to recommend the cancellation of licences to the Transport Department after which the department used to issue a notice to the driver to surrender the licence. By the time that whole process used to happen, if at all, major part of three months may have already elapsed and during the whole time, the offender would have the possession of the licence and could still drive on the road.
Chander had then requested the Supreme Court Committee to empower the police to seize the licence as means of a strong deterrent against traffic violations. And after the Supreme Court Committee authorised the Traffic Police to seize the licence, the offenders now immediately lose their driving licences and get it back only after three months.