Now, vehicles to keep off sealed roads in Shimla

Legal Correspondent

Shimla, November 21

The High Court has taken judicial notice of the challaning of the official vehicle of one of the judges by the police.

It has directed the Chief Secretary that no vehicle, except the vehicle of the Governor, Chief Minister, Chief Justice and public utility vehicles, will ply between the Shimla Club and the Lift, the Railway Board Building and the Central Telegraph Office (CTO) near the Mall Road.

It has suspended the permits/passes issued to ply the vehicles on the stretches.

The court restrained the Additional District Magistrate from issuing any permit to ply the vehicles on sealed/restricted roads. It clarified in its order that the permits issued by any authority shall not be valid till further orders.

A division bench comprising Justice Rajiv Sharma and Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan passed the orders on a petition taken up suo motu by the court taking cognisance on the challan issued by the police.

The bench directed the Chief Secretary to ensure that no vehicle attached to the judges was unnecessarily stopped or challaned.

The Assembly has enacted the Shimla Road Users and Pedestrians (Public Safety and Convenience ) Act, 2007, to restore the sanctity of the Shimla Mall Road by preventing its use as a thoroughfare and to provide for regulation of vehicular traffic in the interest of public safety.

According to Section 3 of the Act, all sealed roads shall be sealed to all motorised traffic, except the official and security vehicles attached with the President, the Vice-President, the Prime Minister, the Governor and the Chief Minister. Apart from this, there is a provision that the official and security vehicles attached with the Chief Justice and High Court Judges shall require no pass for plying on the Mall Road and all sealed roads.