Fitment Of Sensors In Pneumatic Doors Of Buses Cannot Be Insisted For Registration: Kerala HC
The Kerala High Court directed registration of a stage carriage stating that fitment of sensors in pneumatic doors of buses cannot be insisted upon for the purpose of registration.
The Bench clarified that Rule 280 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 and Chapter VI of the AIS-052 (Rev.1) that fitting of Sensors to Pneumatic Doors in a Stage Carriage was not mandated under the rules, not was it insisted upon by the authorities.
A Single Bench of Justice N. Nagaresh observed, “As long as the vehicle of the petitioner satisfies the provisions contained in Chapter VI of AIS-052 (Rev.1) including the construction of tapered Test Bar as per the requirement in paragraph 6.5.1.3 and the closing force, peak force, effective force and clamping force as required in paragraph 6.5, the respondents will not be justified in insisting that the Stage Carriage of the petitioner will be registered only if the Pneumatic Doors of the Stage Carriage are fitted with Sensors. ”
Advocate O.D. Sivadas represented the petitioner, while GP Sreejith V.S. appeared for the respondents.
“The AIS provides that the doors should be of such nature that the wrist or finger can be extracted without risk or injury to the passenger,” the Court remarked.
A bus owner had filed a petition before the Court to direct the registering authority to register his bus without insisting on the fitting of sensors in the pneumatic door, calling such insistence illegal and arbitrary.
The Court pointed out that as per Rule 280 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, only fitment of the pneumatic door had been necessary for Stage Carriages registered after 2011. However, such fitting was only an additional safety measure since the Rules did not mandate the fitment of the sensor in the pneumatic door.
The Court explained, “To ensure that passengers will not be put to risk, AIS provides that Test Bar shall be so constructed such that it shall be tapered at one end over a length of 300 mm from 30 mm to a thickness of 5 mm. It necessarily indicates that if the Power Operated Service Doors are created using Test Bar as indicated in the AIS, then there is no likelihood of risk or injury to a passenger.”
Accordingly, the High Court allowed the petition.
Cause Title: Nijo Varghese v. The Transport Commissioner & Anr. (Neutral Citation: 2024:KER:31597)
Appearance:
Petitioner: Advocate O.D. Sivadas
Respondents: GP Sreejith V.S.