Crack down on minors driving: Hyderabad Traffic Police file charge-sheets, instead of e-challans

Hyderabad: In an attempt to bring down the number of minors driving without a license in the Hyderabad Commissionerate, the Hyderabad Traffic Police are filing charge sheets instead of issuing e-challans on the minors. The charge sheets have been filed since April 2022. So far, charge sheets have been filed in 1059 cases.

"In the last four years, 45 minors have met with accidents while driving without a license in the Hyderabad Commissionerate," said Hyderabad Joint Traffic Commissioner A V Ranganath.

"Minors driving without a license is no longer compoundable. Charge sheets are being filed now," he added. "We intend to bring down this number as much as possible. We have written to the judiciary to give imprisonment for as much time as possible for these cases so as to decrease the number of cases," he explained.

"In the charge sheet the traffic police are filing and submitting to courts, the minor driver's history of offenses is also included," Ranganath said.

"On an average, the Hyderabad Traffic Police are booking around 20-25 minors who are driving without a license on a single day," he said. According to this data, the Hyderabad Commissionerate is booking around 7500-9000 minors driving without a license annually.

How many cases registered?

As of 7 June 2022, 2026 cases have been booked in the year 2022, and a fine of Rs 81,200 has been collected.

1159 cases have been recorded in the North District of Hyderabad Commissionerate alone with Abids recording the highest number of cases in both North District and Hyderabad commissionerate. Whereas in the South District, Falaknuma has recorded the highest number of minors driving without license cases- 155. 154 cases have been booked in Saidabad and 139 in Narayanaguda.

The South District has collected a higher amount of fines than the north district. Rs 51,000 has been collected in the South District and Rs 30,200 in the North District. The highest amount of fines has been collected from cases registered in the Nampally area- Rs 19,000. Here, 51 cases have been filed.

In a total of 65 cases registered in the Hyderabad Commissionerate, the courts have sent the minors for one or two-day community services. Two people have been given community services for two days while 49 people have been given community service for one day only.

What does the law say?

As per Section 181 of the Motor Vehicle Act, minors who are driving without a license can be prosecuted. As per Section 180, the owners of the vehicles will also be prosecuted.

As per MV Act, Section 181, the owner of the vehicle will also be booked. Both the minor booked for driving and the owner of the vehicle is required to attend counseling to be produced in court.

As per MV Act Section 206, the traffic police have the power to seize an original document (RC book or registration certificate) if a minor is found driving without a license. If an original document is not produced by the minor then, as per Section 207 of the MV Act, the traffic police have the power to seize (or detain) the vehicle.

The RC Book or Vehicle seized by the traffic police will only be handed over to the owner of the vehicle after both the minor and owner finish the counseling sessions and other legalities.