Unfit vehicles: SC asks govt to impose heavy penalties on defiant motorists

Judges reprimand transport secretary for failing to forward summary on time.

KARACHI: In 1969, the fine for bringing an unfit vehicle on the road - that might risk lives of its riders as well as the public - was Rs100, equivalent to the price of one tola gold. But if fines today cannot be increased in proportion to the current gold rate, heavy penalties should at least be imposed to effectively enforce the traffic laws and discourage their violations, observed the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

A larger bench - comprising Justices Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Khilji Arif Hussain, Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Gulzar Ahmed and Muhammad Athar Saeed - ordered increasing the penalties during hearing of the Karachi violence suo motu implementation case at the SC’s Karachi registry.

On Tuesday, the court had summoned transport secretary Nazar Muhammad Kalhoro after the additional chief secretary for home, Waseem Ahmed, complained that the former had not forwarded the summary seeking increased penalties by amending existing rules.

The judges castigated Kalhoro when he appeared in court and was unable to explain why he didn’t forward the summary to the law department during the last two months.

“For two months you have been sitting on the summary,” an irked Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany told the secretary. “And while you did so, the fine to kill anyone remains Rs100.You are playing with peoples’ lives and we will hold you responsible,” warned the judges. When the secretary Kalhoro submitted his explanation with the summary, judges noted that the proposed penalties were still too low despite the revision.



“The fine today should at least be around Rs5,000. Laws should be made strict to establish deterrence,” said Justice Jamali.

The bench questioned the secretary about how many new buses have been brought on to the roads.

Advocate General Abdul Fattah Malik informed the court that the public transport operators had gone on strike after the government had increased penalties. He added that private companies were also reluctant to bring new buses on the roads after 300 vehicles were set ablaze during a three-day strike in city.

Justice Jamali remarked it was the duty of the elected democratic, which enjoys support of the people, to take initiatives. “But this government is being run on compromises and people have been left at the mercy of mafias.”

The bench observed that the summary in question was merely verbiage since it had proposed lenient penalties which would make no difference even if enforced.

The judges said that the government is not performing its duty, thus provoking the courts to examine even the legislation.

The bench also questioned what action was being taken against the operators of the containers which had crushed various people to death in the city.

Taking serious note of the secretary’s conduct, the judges warned him to be careful in the future and flout new summary proposing enhanced penalties within three days. Advocate General was directed to submit compliance report by the next session.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 28^th, 2013.