HC adjourns speed governors case by three months

The Madras High Court on Monday adjourned by three months a batch of cases filed against the Centre’s May 1, 2017 notification which denied exemption from fixing speed governors on four-wheelers that weigh up to 3,500 kg and are used for transporting passengers and their luggage with a seating capacity not exceeding eight passengers in addition to the driver’s seat.

The first Division Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice A. Selvam granted a long adjournment in order to enable the petitioners, including Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers based in New Delhi, Motor Vehicles and Allied Industries Association and Cab Owners Association of Tamil Nadu, to make representations to the Centre pressing their demand.

‘Logical in cities’

Leading the arguments on behalf of the petitioners, senior counsel P.S. Raman said the stipulation to fix speed governors on cars and SUVs used by cab operators might sound logical for city driving conditions where vehicles could not be driven at a speed of beyond 50 km an hour but it would cause great hardship on highways where the speed limit was up to 80 km per hour. The senior counsel claimed that the registration of cabs in Tamil Nadu had come down by 40% after the new regulation came into force last year after amendment to Rule 118 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules of 1989.