One month jail term for tinted glass vehicle owners

New Delhi, May 29 (UNI) Delhiites beware! You could be sent to the jail for a month for owning a vehicle with tinted glass and dark films on the windows.

Submitting a status report in Delhi High Court before a bench of Justice M K Sharma and Justice Hima Kohli, the Delhi Police said, ''Offence committed by the owners by fixing tinted glass or dark films should be made punishable with imprisonment upto one month if subsequent imposition of fines did not yield results.'' Replying to the court notice to the PIL filed by Saraswathi Pillai, the police also said the punishment for the offence under the Motor Vehicles Act was not sufficient to deal with the offenders, so the fine amount should be enhanced to Rs 1,000 for first offence and Rs 2,000 for the subsequent violations.

The Court issued notice to the Ministry of Surface Transport to prosecute the owners whose vehicles with dark glass coming to the capital from the neighbouring states.

This year about 6,444 vehicles had been booked and fine of Rs 6,38,400 from 6,384 vehicles recovered, at Rs 100 from each, said the affidavit filed by Alok Kumar, the DCP (Headquarters).

Pillai, the President of the South Delhi Housewives Association and a Counsellor, said many molestation, rape and other heinous crimes were committed inside vehicles with tinted or dark glasses in the Capital.

''Many of the victims do not come out in open and also do not file complaints against the accused mainly because of various issues and family pressures,'' said the petition filed by Counsel Wills Mathews.

UNI PAT LR PC1827