Madras HC: Motorists get 4-day relief on licence rule

Justice M Duraiswamy, on recording the undertaking given by Advocate General Vijay Narayan to defter the implementation of the notification, which had come into effect on September 1, made it clear that the police should not insist on original licence and penalise motorists on this aspect.

The judge deferred its implementation until Tuesday after the Advocate General insisted that a PIL was already lying before the first bench and is scheduled to be taken up on Monday.

The judge, on urging the Advocate General to come up with a solution without pushing the public to hardship, directed the registry to post the present plea moved by the Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners’ Federation before the first bench. The federation had contended that the insistence on carrying the original driving licence would only lead to a chaotic situation in the transport industry, besides causing severe hardship to motorists.

However, the Advocate General pointed out that TN ranks second in the country for road accidents and the insistence of carrying original driving licence as mandated by Motor Vehicles Act has been done in public interest.