In a temporary relief to owners of around 35,000 motor vehicles that were seized for violation of lockdown norms in Bengaluru, the High Court of Karnataka on Thursday permitted the city police to release the vehicles after collecting a tentative fine.
However, the court made it clear that the release of vehicles was subject to the final outcome of the prosecution launched against vehicle owners under provisions of the Indian Penal Code and the Disaster Management Act, 2005 before the jurisdictional magistrate.
While owners of four-wheelers will have to pay a tentative fine of ₹1,000, the owners of two- and three-wheelers will have to pay ₹500, apart from executing a bond as required under Section 102(3) of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The police will also have to impose a condition that the vehicle owners will not violate the conditions of the lockdown again, the court said.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka and Justice Savanur Vishwajith Shetty passed the interim order on an application filed by the State government.
The government, in its application, had sought authorisation for the police to release the seized vehicles by adhering to procedures of the CrPC and the Motor Vehicles Act, instead of following the normal procedure of vehicle owners having to seek permission from the jurisdictional magistrate.
It was also pointed out in the application that sticking to the normal procedure would result in crowding of the magistrate’s court and defeat the purpose of social distancing. While th HC order is limited to Bengaluru city limits, it has given liberty to file similar applications for the release of vehicles seized for violations in other parts of the State.
Informing owners
The city police will start releasing seized vehicles from May 1. The police are taking measures to ensure there is no crowding at stations. “The jurisdictional police have been given details. As per the plan, vehicles seized on March 30 will be released first, followed by other seized vehicles as per the calendar. This is to ensure social distancing and crowd management,” said Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao.
Vehicle owners will be intimated of the time and date, and will have to bring their documents for verification.
