New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday directed all the state governments and union territories (UTs) to take steps to immediately implement Section 136A of the Motor Vehicles Act, which allows authorities to electronically monitor speeding vehicles.
The matter was heard by a bench comprising justices Abhay S Oka and Augustine George Masih. The bench directed Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala to inform it about the steps taken to comply with Section 136A read with Rule 167A of the Motor Vehicles Act.
"We direct the state governments of Delhi, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Kerala to report to this court the steps taken to comply with Section 136A read with Rule 167A. The report shall be submitted to the amicus curiae by December 6," the bench directed.
The apex court passed the order while hearing a public interest litigation filed in 2012 for ensuring road safety in the country. The bench noted that states and UTs decide about the use of electronic enforcement devices for issuance of challans, they shall ensure that fines for violation of provisions of the MV Act are made based on footage from electronic devices.
Rule 167A specifies the detailed provisions for the placement of electronic enforcement devices (speed camera, closed-circuit television camera, speed gun, body wearable camera, dashboard camera, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), weigh-in machine (WIM) and any such technology).
"We, therefore, direct all state governments and Union territories to immediately take steps to implement Section 136A in terms of Rule 167 of the MV Act," said the bench, adding that it will consider the reports on December 11.
