On Thursday, the High Court of Delhi issued notice to the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Delhi Govt & City Police on a petition highlighting that there is no clarity on the colours & specifications of uniform for autorickshaw drivers.
A Division Bench of Chief Justice DN Patel & Justice Jyoti Singh asked the Ministry of Road Transport & Highways, Delhi Govt & City Police to file a reply on the plea.
The Court was hearing a plea filed by Chaalak Shakti seeking to strike down Rule 7 of Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules, 1993 & to strike down permit conditions as notified vide a notification dated Jun 8, 1989, issued under section 88(11)(ii) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.
The plea was filed by Lawyer Mohini Chaubey.
The petitioner also sought to quash any condition of any permit issued by the respondent in relation to the uniform required to be worn by the drivers of transport vehicles.
It also sought to direct the respondents to pay legal costs to the petitioners.
The petitioner told the court that the drivers of transport vehicles such as autorickshaws & taxis are being prosecuted & heavily 'challaned' to the extent of Rs 20,000 for not wearing the uniform, though there is no clarity on the colours & specifications, & there is a stark contradiction in & ambiguity between the rules & permit conditions.
"Rule 7 of Delhi Motor Vehicles Rules, 1993 prescribes uniform colour to be Khaki while, in contrast, permit conditions to lay down Grey uniform," the petition said adding that in spite of the permit conditions framed subject to the rules, the same take precedence & override rules in their enforcement by the respondents.
"There are dozens of prominent shades of both Khaki & Grey but no shade has been stipulated, giving enforcement authorities in the field huge discretion about who they want to prosecute," the petitioner said adding that the word Uniform itself has not been defined whether it is pant-shirt, safari-suit or kurta-pyjama.
"Totally missing are the specifications of fabrics, trims & accessories. In spite of the law being vague & ambiguous, the respondents have issued challans to petitioners while they themselves not wearing uniforms while on duty. The rules & permit conditions insofar as they relate to uniforms being VOID FOR VAGUENESS, the petitioners have prayed for their quashing," said the petitioner.
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