The Kerala High Court ordered the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Kochi, on Friday to ensure that all measures and instructions taken and issued against violating vehicles are implemented without reservation.
A single bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran was hearing a matter of a rash and negligent driving by a private bus near P.V.M. Junction that lead to the death of a youth.
“This Court will never countenance the stand of any person, that they will drive recklessly and kill people, but still cannot be proceeded against, under the legal system”, Justice Ramachandran stated.
The bench expressed its disappointment that, despite the issuance of several orders in the hope that the bus drivers would understand the gravity of the situation, nothing had changed on the ground.
The Deputy Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Kochi, who was personally asked to be present, informed the court that the accident could have been avoided if the bus driver had been more cautious.
The officer further told the court that there is a system called the Intelligent Traffic Management System (ITMS) that allows traffic to be monitored remotely from the police control room, and that every offending vehicle is now being dealt with, including the cancellation of the driver’s licence.
According to Senior Government Pleader K.V. Manoj Kumar, some drivers and owners with vested interests have threatened to engage in disruptive behaviour, including strikes, even as police officials are moving forward with tremendous vigour. As a result, he pleaded with the court to defend the police officers, who, in his words, are carrying out their responsibilities without fear or favour.
The Amicus Curiae Vinod Bhatt claimed that the drivers only follow the court’s orders for a very brief amount of time before returning to their previous behaviour, “perhaps because they had no fear of the law at all.”
The court agreed with this viewpoint and stated that many accidents like this may have been avoided if the bus driver had followed the law.
“Their carelessness and even utter contempt for the orders of this Court are now so evident that it cannot be lost sight of,” the bench remarked.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 23,2023, and the Senior Government Pleader has been instructed to record the DCP’s Action Report during that time.
