The Madras High Court on Monday took up a case suo motu in order to examine the ways and means to prevent reckless driving of motor vehicles and also to ensure that those who indulge in such practices do not get away from the clutches of the law.
Justice N. Anand Venkatesh decided to take up the issue after observing that a Constitutional court could not shut its eyes to hundreds of lives being lost due to rash and negligent driving of vehicles.
Four questions
He expressed his desire to pass a comprehensive and practically viable order which could bring down such incidents considerably.
The judge asked Additional Public Prosecutor M. Mohamed Riyaz to submit answers to four specific questions.
The first one was about the possibility of establishing a 24X7 control room manned by traffic police personnel to monitor the flow of traffic and to stop vehicles that go on a rampage.
CCTV cameras
He suggested that closed-circuit television cameras and the Very High Frequency (VHF) sets should be put to best use to keep a check on reckless driving across the city.
Secondly, he wanted to know whether the police or the Transport department officials could detain motor vehicles used for rash and negligent driving.
The judge directed the police to examine how best the power conferred under the Motor Vehicles Act of 1988 to suspend or revoke driving licences could be used best by the police, transport authorities as well as the trial court to keep a check on reckless driving and prevent major mishaps.
He also wanted to know if it was high time to enforce a recent amendment made to Section 304A (causing death by negligence) of Indian Penal Code thereby increasing the punishment for the offence from just two years to 10 years of rigorous imprisonment.
The judge appointed an amicus curiae to assist the court on the issue and directed the government to consider opinions provided by experts and revert back to the court on July 1 when further orders would be passed in the case.