SC issues contempt notice to Centre, 8 states on HSRP

Supreme Court has sought responses from the Centre and eight state governments on a plea seeking initiation of contempt proceedings against them for non- compliance with orders related to the implementation of tamper proof High Security Registration Plates (HSRP) for vehicles.
A bench of justices AK Patnaik and JS Khehar also issued notices in the matter to the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, and to the Delhi, West Bengal, Bihar, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh governments.
Besides the above, the court also sought within four weeks responses on the issue from the Automotive Research Association of India at Pune and the Delhi-based Central Road Research Institute.

The court, which has for the time being exempted the officials concerned from personal appearance, fixed the plea for hearing in the first week of January, 2014.
The apex court's order came upon a contempt plea filed by the Chairman of All-India Anti-Terrorist Front, MS Bitta, alleging that the said authorities had deliberately failed to comply with the earlier directions, issued in December 2011 and then in February 2012.
The court had, in 2012, specifically asked each state government and the various authorities concerned to "scrupulously adhere to and comply with statutory provisions pertaining to the installation of HSRP," the plea pointed out.

The apex court had earlier directed that the HSRP scheme be implemented within four weeks of Bitta filing his plea on the grounds that the present system was prone to misuse by anti-social elements.
Bitta had contended that despite repeated orders from the apex court, the state governments had failed to introduce the new number plate regime.
The Centre had issued a notification regarding the new number plates in 2001 and the apex court, through several orders, has repeatedly asked the various authorities in the country to implement the scheme.