PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has come down heavily on the Maina Curtorim police station for its failure to impound an uninsured Maharashtra-registered two-wheeler involved in an accident in 2022, despite the Supreme Court’s directive that victims and dependents of such accidents are not left in a helpless position.
The Court noted with concern that this particular case highlights a lack of adherence or serious commitment to enforcing Rule 229A (prohibiting the release of vehicles involved in accidents) to secure compensation and curtail, if not eliminate, the menace of uninsured vehicles on public roads.
“There is no point in framing rules and not implementing them when implementation is called for… Despite the incorporation of Rule 229A in the said Rules, it is evident that Maina Curtorim police did not bother to attach and detain the motorcycle MH-01-CW-8656 of which the registered owner is the third respondent (in the petition) and the driver at the time of the accident was the fourth respondent,” it said.
The police were reprimanded for their failure to initiate any prosecution against the uninsured bike.
"There is no clarity whether the Director General of POlice of Goa, in compliance with the directions of the SC, has issued directions to prosecute drivers and owners of uninsured vehicles....If done, then DGP must find out whether they are being complied with or not. At least in the present case, there appears to be non compliance because no prosecution is launched against the registered owner...." the Court observed adding, "Though we have no material before us, we suspect non compliance across the board. Urgent steps must be adopted to sensitize or at least apprise the police officials about the rule and the decisions of the SC, which is the genesis of this rule."
