Chennai: The state government has informed the Madras high court that recent notification directing motorists to carry the original license while plying the vehicle will not be implemented till Tuesday.
When a petition filed by Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners Federation came up for hearing before Justice M. Duraiswamy, Advocate General Vijay Narayan informed the court that the authorities would not implement the notification till September 5.
Justice M. Duraiswamy has directed the Advocate General to consider the hardship faced by drivers, especially the two-wheeler riders. The judge said any law should not cause hardship to the public. The federation sought direction to the authorities preventing them from insisting the driver keep original driving license while driving vehicle.
‘Licence rule will lead to chaotic situation in transport industry’
The notification, expected to be implemented from Friday, evoked widespread resentment across the state. The violators would liable to be punished with a jail term of up to three months, a fine of up to Rs 500 or both.
And, the traffic police planned to prosecute motorists who failed to keep their original drivers licenses from Friday.
The AG and Govindaraman, counsel for the petitioner, submitted that a PIL has been listed for hearing before the Division Bench on September 4 and the writ petition may be tagged along with the PIL before the Division Bench. Later, the judge posted the writ petition along with the PIL before the Division Bench.
Govindaraman submitted that Rule 139 of Motor Vehicle rules did not mandate the drivers to carry the original driving license with them.
He said, “The instruction of the state transport commissioner to carry the original driving license is improper and it will lead to a chaotic situation in transport industry. The petitioner said that the instruction exceeds the power of the authority”.
“True copy of the license will be kept in the vehicle and it will be produced when the authorities ask for the same and the officials can match for the verification of the document through online from their portal,” he added.
