10568 - Traffic cops’ Aadhaar Card rule comes under fire - TNN

Hyderabad: City police commissionerates are increasingly coming under fire in court over some of their new methods of tackling crime. Asking motorists for Aadhaar cards and fining people on the basis of photographs of traffic offences taken by cops are not going down well with a lot of motorists. 

Last month, city-based advocate Y Soma Raju filed a PIL in the high court challenging the order of Cyberabad traffic police issued on July 23 asking all motorists to compulsorily carry Aadhaar cards. 

After hearing the PIL at length, the high court on October 18 directed the home department to furnish an affidavit explaining under which provision of law the police had asked people to carry Aadhaar cards. 

Cyberabad police filed an affidavit on Tuesday saying they were asking for the card to get details of offenders. Since there was no existing provision in law which made it compulsory for a motorist to carry an Aadhaar card, the cops made it optional while carrying out its enforcement tasks. 

"While entering details of traffic offenders in computer tablets, driving license or Aadhaar details are sought to generate challans. We are asking for Aadhaar details mainly to establish the true identity and address of offenders if they fail to produce a license," DCP (traffic-II), Hyderabad, AV Ranganath said. 

Local residents have found some other issues also very bothersome. A medical practitioner Dr C Lakshmi of Prashant Nagar in Vanasthalipuram filed a writ petition in the high court in late October challenging the validity of e-challans generated through photographs of traffic violations taken by cops using cameras. 

The petitioner narrated to the court an incident when traffic cops stopped the vehicle as she drove her car at Vanasthalipuram in September. After verification of documents, the police asked her to pay pending challans issued by Cyberabad police to the tune of Rs 1,805. 

"The police advised me to pay the challans immediately and threatened to impound my vehicle if I didn't. These traffic challans are illegal because the tickets were issued when on most occasions I was not in my car," the petitioner said before the court. Based on the petition, the high court asked Cyberabad police to furnish its response in the form of an affidavit. 

Cyberabad traffic DCP AR Srinivas said all e-challans were being issued under Section 133 of the MV Act (duty of owner of motor vehicle to give information) which means, it was the responsibility of the owner of the vehicle to give details of the driver or conductor. "The e-challan system is a time-tested enforcement practice adopted by police across the globe. In view of the low number of police personnel compared to the number of motorists, issuing an e-challan with photo proof is crucial to keep a check on traffic violators," Srinivas said. 

Blurb 

Cyberabad police filed an affidavit on Tuesday saying they were asking for the card to get details of offenders. Since there was no existing provision in law which made it compulsory for a motorist to carry an Aadhaar card, the cops made it optional while carrying out its enforcement tasks.

Quote 

In view of the low number of police personnel compared to the number of motorists, issuing an e-challan with photo proof is crucial to keep a check on traffic violators

AR Srinivas, traffic DCP, Cyberabad