Observing that Regional Transport Offices in Maharashtra were not following the Central Motor Vehicles Rules when renewing fitness certificates of transport vehicles, the Bombay High Court today ordered action against the concerned officials.
The court also asked the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) to conduct surprise visits at all the RTOs in the state to ensure that fitness certificates were being issued in a proper way by adhering to the rules.
"The visits shall be completed within a period of two months....The necessary charges shall be paid by the state to ARAI," said the division bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka.
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The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by Shrikant Karve, which alleges that RTOs do not follow the rules while issuing fitness certificates, which leads to accidents.
It points out that illegal modifications in the private buses, especially those having sleeper berths, turn them into death traps, as seen in recent cases of fires on buses.
ARAI teams would ensure that prescribed road length is available at RTO offices for testing the brakes, and also availability of necessary equipment for conducting other tests.
ARAI would submit a report to the court within three months.
