HC directs Mah govt to impose fine on overloaded vehicles

Mumbai, Jul 6 (UNI) Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra State Road Transport department to impose a fine on overloaded vehicles and allow them to ply only after off-loading the extra goods.

A division bench comprising Justices R M Lodha and S J Vajifder directed the state officials to strictly implement Section 114 of the Motor Vehicle Act, which empowers the state to take action against such vehicles and instructed them to file its reply within four weeks.

A recent government notification had stated that the state officials were empowered to impose a fine of Rs 2000 per metric tonne which was earlier Rs 150 per metric tonne.

The court passed the order during the hearing of a PIL filed by a transporter Somchand Lodhya who claimed that despite the strict law, the police were merely imposing the fine on overloaded vehicles and allowing them to ply without offloading those goods.

The court was told that the action of the police was contrary to the Motor Vehicles Act, which says that the overloaded weight should be offloaded, the driver should be punished and then the vehicle should be allowed to ply.

UNI XR-LS SSS MSJ HT1722