Interestingly, one fine morning, a swanky car with a flashing red beacon zoomed past a group of morning walkers and screeched to a halt in front of a public facility. The driver jumped out and sprinted to disappear in a Sulabh Sauchalaya. The morning walkers wondered why a high dignitary drove the car himself and crashed into a cheap public toilet. Moments later, they came to know the vehicle belonged to a visiting Income Tax official who is not entitled to a beacon light, let alone a 'flashing red'. The official imagined he was a bigwig and his outstation driver had the right to use the red beacon when the nature's call was overwhelmingly pressing. Even Panchayati Raj representatives are seen flaunting the flashing red beacon.
A VIP in any democracy is looked down as a 'Very Irritating Person' for abusing position of authority. In healthier democracies, only great achievers in the field of science, education, art and, above all, public service are considered true dignitaries who may be informally called VIPs. Nowhere in the world can a public servant assume the proportions of a VIP before the masters who pay him a salary.
This widely misplaced expression VIP was first used during World War II by an army officer who was taking a secret flight of dignitaries to the Middle East by keeping their identities a secret. So, he listed each of them as a “VIP” on his transport document. This appellation became an almost overnight sensation, and though most frequently used to describe an officer, executive, or politician, VIP now is applied to anyone in a position of importance.
The whole concept of VIP is highly contradictory to the spirit of democracy. The moment ordinary people accept a public servant to be more important than the masses and dole out their money to accord him a disproportionately elitist status, they are doing wrong to their own nation state.
In India, VIPs block road traffic, steal the state's hospitality - police escort and motorcade full of headless cronies, spouses, spoilt children and sycophants.
People's displeasure kept rising, and after several PIls never heard properly, one or two stirred the judges. One was a Calcutta Bench which had come heavily on the state authorities and the latest one by one Abhay Singh of Uttar Pradesh. The Supreme Court has now conclusively banned the use of red beacon with flasher on all vehicles except those used by truly high dignitaries holding Constitutional posts. The apex court asked the Government to amend the Motor Vehicles Act to make the 'fine' amounts to be big enough to be a deterrent. The SC also banned air-pressure, multi-sound and musical horns in vehicles.
This grand Bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi also directed the Centre to issue a fresh list of people eligible for using red beacon and to amend the rule within three months if beacon light use is without a rule.
The Bench did further warn the State Governments against fanciful expansion of the list of dignitaries eligible for red beacon beyond the notifications issued by the Centre in 2002 and 2005. This includes the President, Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Cabinet Ministers, Governors, Chief Ministers and the chiefs of the three defence services.
Even use of siren, granted by the Government to some so-called VIPs, was unlawful. It also directed that the police personnel giving security cover to VIPs be deployed for better purposes like making the roads safe for women.
The Centre has, meanwhile, told the court that Rs341 crore is spent annually on guarding VVIPs only in Delhi. Most of this money was spent on 376 individuals with Z-plus security manned by Central security forces. Rs40 crore was spent on the Rashtrapati Bhavan security alone.
Incidentally, only one cop is available to protect 568 Indian citizens. Yet, Prime Minister Modi has remorselessly made fresh provisions for bigger fund allocation to keep his political colleagues jovial with special police protection irrespective of party lines, no matter if they have zero threat perception. With VVIP status, the self-styled bigwigs are keen that their vehicles are decorated with red beacon mainly to scare the public and the police alike.
According to the Notification No. 52 (E)/ 11-01-2002 of the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, under clause (iii) of proviso to rule 108 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989, the Central Government specifies that a vehicle carrying the following high dignitaries shall be permitted to use:
'Red light with flasher' only while on duty anywhere in the country:
President, Vice-President, Prime Minister, Former President, Deputy Prime Minister, Chief Justice of India, Speaker of the lok Sabha, Cabinet Ministers of the Union, Ambassadors Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary and High Commissioners of Commonwealth Countries accredited to India.
Deputy Chief Ministers of States Chief Justices of High Courts Within & outside their respective jurisdictions.
Envoys Extraordinary and Ministers Plenipotentiary accredited to India. Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, Former Prime Ministers, leaders of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and lok Sabha, Judges of the Supreme Court.
'Red light without flasher':
Judges of High Courts, Chief Election Commissioner, Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Deputy Chairman, Rajya Sabha, Deputy Speaker, lok Sabha, Ministers of the State of the Union Members of the Planning Commission, Attorney General of India, Cabinet Secretary, Chiefs of Staff of the three services holding the rank of full General or equivalent rank, Deputy Ministers of the Union, Officiating Chiefs of Staff of the three services holding the rank of lt. General or equivalent rank Chairman, Central Administrative Tribunal, Chairman, Minorities Commission, Chairman, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Commission, Chairman, Union Public Services Commission.
But if the dignitaries are not in the vehicle, the red light be removed or covered by a black casing.
Beacon colours for non-Constitutional public servants:
Top police personnel in the rank of DGP, ADGP, IG, DIG, SP, Commissioner, Additional Commissioner, DC and AC, ASP, DSP could use blue light with flasher.
Government secretaries, department heads, district collectors, municipal chairpersons and commissioners, district judges who require unhindered access to the roads for performing their duties can also use 'blue light' with flasher.
The SC ruled against misuse of beacon light by politicians and bureaucrats who are flaunting it as a status symbol, saying it is reflective of the “Raj mentality”.
As per the court orders, uniformed personnel engaged in emergency duties such as ambulance and fire services, emergency maintenance and police vehicles used as escorts or pilots or for law and order duties will be entitled to use blue, amber or specific multicoloured lights but never the 'red beacon'.
According to rules, siren is allowed only on vehicles used as ambulances or for firefighting or salvage purposes or vehicles used by police officers or operators of construction equipment vehicles or officers of the motor vehicles department only while discharging emergency public duty.
The Maharashtra Government in August pruned the list of people who can use red beacons on their vehicles. Accordingly, only the Governor, Chief Minister, Deputy CM and Ministers, Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court, Chairman and Speaker of the legislature and leaders of Opposition are entitled to use red lights with flashers. The Delhi police has just been permitted red beacon during the monumental winter fogs as that colour penetrates fog easily. But incidentally, the US and cold European countries with more dangerously thick winter fogs have never appealed to lawmakers pr courts for the red beacon on record.
All the same some States have chosen their dignitaries fancifully so as to let them abuse the 'red beacon' by way of populist methods for keeping officials happy and servile to extend unlawful support at the wrong times.
The honourable Supreme Court could have done much better by fixing a pocket-pinching financial penalty which is still not above Rs300 as fixed in 1988. So, offenders would commit the crime without fear and keep spitting out the paltry sum any number of times in a single day. It's like only tweaking the criminal's ears when he is convicted for homicide and let him go. If alcohol abuse by drivers can attract a penalty of Rs10,000, how can the know-all public officials escape with abuse of the blinking Red EyeIJ
(The writer is a core member of Transparency International, Odisha)