SC notice to Centre, states on installing speed governors

The Supreme Court on Friday sought response from the central and states governments on a public interest suit challenging the April 15 government notification exempting some category of four-wheel passenger and transport vehicles from mandatorily installing speed governors.

The apex court bench of Justice Ranjan Gogoi and Justice N.V. Ramana issued notice as NGO Suraksha Foundation questioned the rationale for such an exemption to these passenger and commercial vehicles from installing speed governors that is a mandatory requirement under the Central Motor Vehicles (Sixth Amendment) Rules.

Seeking response from the Centre, state governments and the union territories, also sought reports on the enforcing of the provisions mandating the fitting of speed governors (speed controlling device) on notified kind of passenger and transport vehicles under the Central Motor Vehicles (Sixth Amendment) Rules.

It gave them six weeks' time to file the report.

The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, on Speed governor says the transport vehicles as may be notified by the state government a shall be fitted a with a speed governor a in such a manner that the speed governor can be sealed with an official seal a in such a way that it cannot be removed or tampered with without the seal being broken.

The rules further say the speed governor of every transport vehicle shall be so set that the vehicle is incapable of being driven at a speed in excess of the maximum pre-set speed of the vehicle except down an incline.

Challenging the notification exempting the vehicles, the petitioner said it was these very exempted vehicles that were responsible for a large number of road accidents.