Calcutta The High Court said that the police can confiscate the driving license for valid reasons, but cannot cancel or cancel it. It comes under the jurisdiction of licensing officers. The court also said that if a person wants to defend himself, the police can neither impose a fine on the spot nor force him to accept the allegations. The court further stated that the police can confiscate the license only when there is any reason to believe that it can cause a serious crime like driving or driving at a high speed. Even in this case, it should be sent to court, and if found guilty, the license is canceled by the licensing officer.
What is the whole matter?
In Kolkata, a lawyer was stopped by a traffic sergeant, alleging that his car was running at a high speed. Advocate Subharangasu Panda claimed that the traffic police first confiscated his driving license and then demanded cash payment on the spot instead of online payment. Panda alleged that Sergeant sought cash of Rs 1,000 as an invoice. He also explained to Sergeant that the police did not have the right to suspend the driving license. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, only licensing authority can cancel the driving license. After listening to the advocate about the behavior of the traffic authority, Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee, who is chaired by the bench, directed that a new course should be created on how to implement the traffic law without harassing the public.
Justice Partha Sarathi Sen said in his judgment, “Although the word seized in Section 206 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is used, the Act does not define this expression. As a result, the meaning of the term must be deemed to be in general and common colloquial.
However, the police officer has the right to confiscate the license under the said provision on fulfilling any condition mentioned in Section 206 of the Act, 1988, he has to forward the license to take cognizance of the crime allegedly committed by the driver, and if the conditions are vested in the sub-stream (4) of the Act, 1988, then send it to the license under the Act, 1988, to start a license or disable It happens. Therefore, the right to suspend, cancel or confiscate the license lies with the licensing authority who issued it completely. Therefore, I could not agree with the argument of defendant number 10 that he had the right to confiscate the license.
What did the Calcutta High Court say?
The Calcutta High Court said that Section 2 (20) of the Act of 1988 states that only the licensing authority has the right to cancel or cancel the driving license. The court further said, “It has been alleged that the petitioner and the intervener behaved with a disgraceful and arrogant, which is accused of making derogatory remarks against persons advocating in this honorable court and taking the name of a former judge of this court improperly. Even if such a behavior has happened, it is an unfortunate and unbearable person in the police department. There is a welfare state ruled by the rule of law. “
Case filed in 2024
A writ petition was filed by Calcutta High Court advocate Subharangasu Panda. According to the petition, on March 26, 2024, his vehicle was Khidirpur Road and AJC. Traffic Sergeant Palash Haladar (defendant number 10) was stopped at Bose Road Crossing. The petitioner was accused of over-speeding, in which the speed of his vehicle was allegedly 77 km/h in an area of 60 km/h. Panda alleged that Sergeant sought a cash fine of Rs 1,000. When the petitioner refused to pay cash and emphasized the prescribed online process to oppose the challan, Sergeant seized his driving license without issuing compulsory temporary authority slip under Section 206 (3) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The petitioner argued that he had revealed his identity as a lawyer to the officer and argued that the seizure was legally unacceptable until he was feared absconding, a condition that was not fulfilled in his case. The petition was supported by the intervention application of another lawyer, which on the same day described a similar incident with the same officer, alleging that the officer made derogatory remarks about the lawyers and forced him to pay Rs 500 cash to get the key of his car back.
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