Odisha govt to revoke DL of motorists for rash driving

Odisha Sun Times Bureau
Bhubaneswar, May 17:

Having drawn flack from the CAG over increasing cases of accidents in Odisha, the state government on Saturday cracked the whip on reckless drivers as it threatened to revoke their Driving License (DL), Fitness Certificate and route permit, should they cause death or inflict grievous injuries on others.

Notably, the driving license of the holder would be revoked under Sec 19 of MV Act, 1983 in case of death due to negligent driving in case he is using or used a motor vehicle in commission of a cognizable offence. In the event of death or injury due to fault of driver, immediate step should be taken by the RTO (Licensing Authority) to cancel the driving license after giving him an opportunity of being heard.

In addition to this, driving license of a driver shall be suspended for six months in case cases were registered under Sec 184 of MV Act 1988 for negligent driving causing multiple deaths or injuries, a circular of the state transport commissioner said.

“Provision of issuing show-cause notice to the vehicle owners and cancellation of license of the erring drivers has been made in the circular. Besides, the driving license of a driver shall be suspended for six months,” state Transport Minister Ramesh Majhi said.

Besides, the transport department has made provision for cancellation of the Fitness Certificate of vehicle involved in accident under Section 56 (4) of MV Act, 1988. Consequent upon cancellation of Certificate of Fitness, the Registration Certificate of the vehicle shall be deemed to be suspended and the vehicle cannot ply on public road even though it has got valid permit.

Acting tough on the erring drivers, the department has made provisions for for cancellation of permit under section 86 (1) (a) of M V Act. 1988.

“We oppose the provision of cancellation of route permit of the vehicle issued to the owner for none of his fault. We have urged the government to publish a list of eligible drivers, helpers and conductors in each RTO in the state after proper police verification so that we would employ these men to minimize accidents,” said Debendra Sahu, Secretary, State Private Bus Owners’ Association.

Meanwhile, the transport commissioner has directed the RTOs to furnish a monthly report on revocation of driving license due to rash driving.

It may be mentioned here that the comptroller of accounts general (CAG) had come down heavily on the state for increasing cases of deaths due to road accidents in the state. CAG, in its report, had stated that the number of deaths due to accidents in Odisha was higher than the national average.

From 2008-2012, Odisha registered at least 45, 164 cases of road accidents of which 15, 774 were fatal which amounts to 35 per cent of the total accidents. As many as 17, 946 people have lost their lives in road accidents during this period in Odisha. Notably, the national average of road accidents stands at 27 per cent.