DIPANKAR DUTTA Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) An important question of law, with which all drivers of non-transport vehicles and the police officers are concerned, has come up for consideration before the court in the instant case, namely, whether a driver of a non-transport vehicle is legally obliged to produce certificate of registration of his vehicle and the certificate of insurance for examination on the spot on demand made by a police officer in the uniform and whether his failure to do so would amount to an offence for which police officer can penalise him by seizing the licence and imposing fine under the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act.

(2.) The petitioner, who is a practising advocate of this Hon'ble Court and is registered owner of a motor cycle bearing Registration No. WRI-6704. on 10th August, 1996 along with his wife and daughter was proceeding to Salt Lake riding on the said motor cycle when he was intercepted by a traffic sergeant being the respondent No.6 and was asked to produce his driving licence, the certificate of pollution under control for his examination, which was admittedly produced by the petitioner. The petitioner thereafter was asked to produce by the said traffic sergeant the certificate of registration, the insurance certificate and the tax token. Although such tax token was produced by the petitioner he not being in possession of the certificate of registration and the insurance certificate at that point of time was unable to produce the same on demand by the respondent, whereupon he was informed by the said traffic sergeant that the petitioner had contravened section 130(3) of Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and was, thus, liable to be penalised for having committed offence under the said Act. It has been alleged in the writ petition similar treatment was meted out to a scooterist who was also intercepted and was unable to produce the insurance certificate and the registration certificate on demand. It is the case of the petitioner that although thereafter he disclosed his identity before the traffic sergeant, namely, he is a practising advocate of this Hon'ble Court and informed him that under the relevant provisions of the Act he cannot be penalised for non-production of insurance certificate and registration certificate on spot but only after failure to do so within a certain time to be fixed by the said police officer, the same was of no avail. It is alleged that the petitioner was meted out by the said traffic sergeant with rude and impolite behaviour and he was absolutely arrogant and was not willing to submit to any reason and abused the entire legal profession and imposed penalty on the petitioner and seized his driving licence. From a copy of the seizure list handed over to him, it appears the same was really a compound slip wherein the petitioner was charged with committing offence under section 130(3) of the said Act read with section 177 thereof. It was further indicated in the said slip that the prayer for being excused and for compounding the offences having been made under section 200 of the said Act, the same would stand compounded under the said section on payment of Rs. 100 within 15 days failing which prosecution would be filed in the appropriate court of law (Annexure 'B' to the writ petition).

(3.) Thereafter the present writ petition was moved after giving notice to the respondents.