The High Court of Karnataka on Monday directed the State Government to ensure that officers of the Regional Transport Offices (RTOs) maintain proper register on assessing the applicants for the motor vehicle driving licence as per the parameters prescribed in the law.
Also, the court asked the Government to ensure that the higher authorities take action against the officials concerned in case of complaints on not following the parameters/checklist prescribed under the Rule 15 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, by the officers authorised to conduct driving test.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Ritu Raj Awasthi and Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum issued the directions while disposing of a PIL petition filed by Gowrishankar S., a resident of Bengaluru.
Earlier, the Government made it clear to the court that directions had been issued to the RTOs to maintain register of checklist as per the CMV Rules and guidelines had been issued for ensuring that the tests were conducted as per the norms prescribed in the Rules. The Government also told the court that RTOs were maintaining the register of checklist.
Observing that there was no reason to disbelieve the Government’s assurance that the norms prescribed in the Rules were being complied with, the Bench said that higher authorities were required to take appropriate action on receipt of complaint about violation of norms prescribed in the rules.
The petitioner had complained that driving tests were conducted without following the prescribed parameters while contending that it would not be possible to conduct 50 to 70 tests every day in an RTO by adhering to all the 24 parameters prescribed in Rule 15.
