Court orders cops to impound jugaads

NEW DELHI: Observing that jugaads (cycle rickshaws fitted with scooter engines) plying on city roads are “illegal” and operating in violation of motor vehicles rules, thereby putting the lives of their drivers and other commuters at risk, a trial court has directed Delhi Police to impound these vehicles. Issuing the directions, the court pointed out there has been an increase in road accidents in areas where jugaads are widely used.
The court also said that scooter engines fitted in jugaads are mostly taken from stolen vehicles, so, in case of accidents, it becomes very difficult to compensate the victims. “In the event of accident, the victims are left without any effective remedy as the vehicles are unregistered as well as uninsured and the owners of jugaads are without much financial capacity to compensate the injured. In the (light of) facts and circumstances, the plying of jugaads is illegal and unauthorized and needs to be stringently checked as it endangers public safety,” additional district and sessions judge A K Mendiratta said. The court also noted in its order that in May 2013, Delhi high court had passed an order regarding plying of jugaads and added that police need to stop these vehicles.
The court has directed the Delhi Police commissioner and the joint commissioner of police (traffic) to ensure that jugaads operate only in accordance with motor vehicles rules. It also asked them to file an action-taken report in this regard by August 6. “Since the use of jugaads is considerably prevalent in certain pockets of the city and these are also used for supply/delivery of commercial goods and in weekly markets, police authorities are expected to enforce the law to prevent (a) large number of accidents,” the judge said.
The court was hearing a case of rash and negligent driving in which a class X student, Anas, had suffered injuries after his scooter was hit by a jugaad which was allegedly being driven in a rash and negligent manner. The accident occurred on the evening of May 22, 2015 in Daryaganj where Anas had gone to buy books. Police sought some time from the court to file a detailed action report (DAR) in the case saying “the engine number of the scooter used inthe jugaad could not be linkedwith any registered vehicle which indicates that the engine could be a part of some stolen or condemned vehicle.” The court granted police time to file its DAR by August 6, the next date of hearing.
The court said the Motor Vehicles Act states that no person can be permitted to drive a vehicle in an unsafe condition. “Also, the alteration of vehicle to a condition contravening the provisions of Motor Vehicles Act is punishable under the Act … The assembly and plying of jugaads which are without any structural safeguards is in contravention of Motor Vehicles Act and Rules,” the court said.
Illegal plying of jugaads is dangerous, the court said, adding that their load-carrying capacity is untested. It said speeding on overloaded jugaads endangers public safety. “Admittedly, there is neither any specification for the body of a jugaad nor any permit, insurance or driving licence for the driver,” it said.