Delhi HC asks police to take action against ”jugaad” vehicles

The Delhi High Court Wednesday directed the police to take necessary action against hybrid rickshaws, also known as “jugaads”, which are cobbled together from parts of various vehicles.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice C HariShankar issued the direction to Delhi Police Commissioner on a PIL allegingthat such hybrid vehicles were plying without registration or insurance andwere mostly driven by people without any driving licence.

   

With the direction the court disposed of the plea by Delhiresident Shiv Kumar, represented by advocate Rajdipa Behura, who has claimedthat though “jugaads” have been brought under the ambit of Motor VehiclesAct, there were no guidelines in place to regulate them.

Behura told the bench that either the “jugaads” be bannedor guidelines be put in place to regulate them as was done in the case ofe-rickshaws.

Central government standing counsel Ravi Prakash andadvocate Farman Ali Magray, appearing for the Transport Ministry, told thecourt that it was complying with the Supreme Court”s May 2013 direction toensure “jugaads” are not permitted to ply without adhering to therequirements of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Prakash and Magray told the bench that the ministry hasalready issued a circular to all the state governments to take action against”jugaads” in accordance with the Motor Vehicles Act.

Kumar, in his plea, had said that he filed the instantpetition after witnessing such “makeshift vehicles made from tyres of amotorbike, the handle and engine of a Bajaj scooter fitted to a body of a cyclecart/ rickshaw” carrying goods in the heavy traffic near Kotla Mubarakpurhere.

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