- By Imran Zafar
- Tue, 30 Apr 2024 06:04 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
The Greater Chennai Traffic Police announced plans to initiate a crackdown on unauthorised stickers and logos on private vehicles, effective from May 2, 2024. The initiative targets the removal of symbols or marks that falsely imply government affiliation, which has been identified as a source of confusion and potential misuse affecting the public and law enforcement operations.
The police department observed a prevalent trend among private vehicle owners in Chennai City, displaying stickers or markings that suggest connections to various government departments, including PRESS, Secretariat, TNEB, GCC and Defence, as well as the Police department itself. The presence of stickers representing political parties or professions such as doctors and advocates has also been noted, which adds to the potential for confusion and misuse.
These unauthorised displays, often found on number plates or other parts of the vehicle, pose a risk to operational efficiency and safety, potentially leading to the misrepresentation of the department’s reputation and hindering officers and police personnel during field duty.
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Legal repercussions for non-compliance with the new directive will be severe. Starting May 2, violators will be subject to legal proceedings under Section 198 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, for unauthorised interference with motor vehicles and Section 177 for defective number plates as per Central Motor Vehicles Rule 50.
"Considering the seriousness of this fact, Greater Chennai Traffic Police hereby warns the road users against these practices and provides a time period till 01.05.2024 to correct and rectify," the release reads," a release said.
The Greater Chennai Traffic Police also issued a warning to all road users to remove any unauthorised stickers or identifiers from their private vehicles by May 1, 2024, to avoid legal consequences. The police department has underscored the gravity of the situation and is providing a grace period until the specified date for individuals to comply with the regulations.