LUCK: UP’s transportation department has issued an order to all of its RTO, ARTO, and law enforcement officers to take the necessary action under the MV Act against vehicles found on the road with the caste of the owner indicated on the license plate.
The order has been issued by the additional transport commissioner (administration), Mukesh Chandra, which labels a letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the Integrated Complaint Redress System (IGRS) and which said to display names based on caste on license plates is a trend in UP and many other states.
The letter written by Harshpal Prabhu from Maharashtra on December 4 said that “it is a superiority complex” and must be revised “to stop caste-based crime.”
How this letter went viral with news reports that UP’s transportation department issued an order vehicles displaying caste names on its license plates, Lucknow Regional Transport Officer Ramfer Dwivedi told TOI that anything inscribed on the license plate is already a crime under Motor Law V, which carries a penalty of Rs 500 the first time and 1500 rupees in the subsequent offense. “There is no law to impound the vehicle as of now,” he added.
“It is not a new order since writing something on the license plate beyond the registration number is already a crime under the MV Law. The order is to reinforce the disposition. The license plate should only show the number in a defined font so that it is clearly visible as we have it at HSRP, ”said Chandra, who issued the order.
The caste shows up to glorify it, Prabhu’s letter said, adding that such glorification must stop as it can lead to rivalry, which can create a public order situation in the state.
After receiving the letter, the Department of Transportation will review vehicles in the state and take action against those rules that break the rules.
Additional Chief Information Secretary Navneet Sehgal told TOI: “There is no new warrant for the seizure of vehicles showing caste and name, there is already a law that operates for silent vehicles that use such license plates,” he said.
Similary, Uttar Pradesh Transportation Commissioner Dheeraj Sahu told TOI that the letter on social media regarding the case has been misinterpreted. “There is no information on the seizure of vehicles that have the breed and the names inscribed on the license plates,” he said.
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