[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by igniteddriver

My friend's Baleno with non-KA plate was seized and fined 60k recently. He could get the car back only after paying fine.

What do they do when the car is 'seized', because won't it take an extra day in most cases to get the payment done at the RTO? More than the money, I am worried about the condition of the car if the RTO guys impound it.

[aajohn]

Originally Posted by rejoycjohn

May be this will enable more people to sign the petition.

At the cost of sounding pessimistic, will this petition be able to bring about a change? I have signed it, but I'm not too sure about whether it would yield results. IMHO, a PIL would be only way they would be answerable.

[suresh_gs]

Originally Posted by aajohn

At the cost of sounding pessimistic, will this petition be able to bring about a change? I have signed it, but I'm not too sure about whether it would yield results. IMHO, a PIL would be only way they would be answerable.

Very well said. I think a PIL will be the need of the hour than the online petition.

[audioholic]

Originally Posted by abhinavrm

2. Vehicles in Bangalore cannot be stopped randomly unless you have flouted a rule.

That applies to the traffic police only. Here, the traffic police are not the ones flagging you down for road tax verification. It is the RTO cops. The traffic police aren't the ones behind this act.

When you go through the Motor Vehicles Act, one will be surprised by the amount of powers that these RTO officials have. It is even legal to enter a premises to inspect or verify a vehicles records. Hence, whether you committed an offence or not, you can be flagged down and scrutinised

[TurboGuru]

Originally Posted by audioholic

That applies to the traffic police only. Here, the traffic police are not the ones flagging you down for road tax verification. It is the RTO cops. The traffic police aren't the ones behind this act.

When you go through the Motor Vehicles Act, one will be surprised by the amount of powers that these RTO officials have. It is even legal to enter a premises to inspect or verify a vehicles records. Hence, whether you committed an offence or not, you can be flagged down and scrutinised

from what i saw few days before there was a RTO vehicle (Sumo Grande) doing random check on the Hosur road near Electronic City standing by were a few vehicle (mostly small pick ups). Some barricade in HSR Layout area near BDA Complex, stopping mostly 2 wheeler & the cops where dressed in Khakis not regular Traffic Cops !

[rohing]

Originally Posted by suresh_gs

Very well said. I think a PIL will be the need of the hour than the online petition.

Agree but we need to start somewhere. If we can show enough support, we can forward this petition to some prominent NGOs, lawyers and others for a PIL. In parallel, we could send this to MP election candidates and govt reps. All this if we can show some 5k support at least.

[aroonanand]

Originally Posted by TurboGuru

Some barricade in HSR Layout area near BDA Complex, stopping mostly 2 wheeler & the cops where dressed in Khakis not regular Traffic Cops !

Saw some barricades on Hosa Road before the Mahaveer Ranches property when you come from Sarjapur road - again khakhi clad folks had stopped a few bikes for not wearing helmet etc. Looks like RTOs / cops are all out to meet their targets by 31 March !!!

[Bluestallion]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

I was driving my MH-04 car in Bangalore last year, when at a signal a traffic cop came and spoke something to me. Didnt understand a word. Then he went and came back with a Camera and clicked my cars pic with the number plate.

I think that is the process they follow. (Assume the pic was with time & date stamp)

Please check on http://www.bangaloretrafficpolice.go...nedetails.aspx whether your vehicle has any penalty due. For all you know he may have clicked for some minor violation like stopping on the zebra crossing.

[ambivalent_98]

Generally looking at the comments , is the very pre-dominant on Hosur Road ? Most people who get caught look as if they are TN or KL and were caught on this road in and around E-City. There could be other places for sure but just wondering if this is true.

[bdman]

Originally Posted by abhinavrm

With any rule, always remember that you are innocent until proven guilty.

There are a few rules that everyone should know about Bangalore.

1. The onus of proving that your vehicle has been in the state for (1 month/1 year) lies with the RTO or the cop who has stopped you. If you have a single toll receipt, fuel receipt,PUC from outside the state, you are good. If the officer cannot prove that your vehicle has been in the state for 1 month/1year, you are free to go(that is the firm stand you should take when discussing with the cop)

2. Vehicles in Bangalore cannot be stopped randomly unless you have flouted a rule.

True there are many rules Law Enforcement should abide by. In my opinion, they don't do that in Bangalore. They know that the only way you can prove that they did not follow the law is by going to court. And since that is cumbersome process and time consuming process, most people will pay off the cops.

I have personal experience where my bike was "stolen" by the cops from front of Thoms Bakery. When I finally found my bike at the police station the reason they provided was that the bike was not "locked" so they took it. When demanded, they showed me the law in Kannada - which I cannot read and twisted the interpretation to their convenience. Thanks to the internet, I looked up the law in English. The law states that police is authorized to take property for safekeeping only if there is sign posted warning public of the same. There was no sign posted. So, I told them I was not paying the fine of Rs 300 and will fight in court. Yes, I could have gone to court and fought this. But, that would mean taking an auto home (Rs. 500). Then going to court etc. After a long drawn out argument in the police station, the Inspector offered to find me representation in court for Rs. 300 cash. Given the options I had, you can guess what I did. 10 minutes and Rs 300 later, I was riding home in my bike.

[abhinavrm]

Originally Posted by bdman

When demanded, they showed me the law in Kannada - which I cannot read and twisted the interpretation to their convenience.

Originally Posted by audioholic

When you go through the Motor Vehicles Act, one will be surprised by the amount of powers that these RTO officials have. It is even legal to enter a premises to inspect or verify a vehicles records. Hence, whether you committed an offence or not, you can be flagged down and scrutinised

That amazing state of affairs when the law enforcers lose the plot and start harassing the very people they are supposed to protect.

[blacksport]

Originally Posted by bdman

True there are many rules Law Enforcement should abide by. In my opinion, they don't do that in Bangalore. They know that the only way you can prove that they did not follow the law is by going to court. And since that is cumbersome process and time consuming process, most people will pay off the cops.

I have personal experience where my bike was "stolen" by the cops from front of Thoms Bakery. When I finally found my bike at the police station the reason they provided was that the bike was not "locked" so they took it. When demanded, they showed me the law in Kannada - which I cannot read and twisted the interpretation to their convenience. Thanks to the internet, I looked up the law in English. The law states that police is authorized to take property for safekeeping only if there is sign posted warning public of the same. There was no sign posted. So, I told them I was not paying the fine of Rs 300 and will fight in court. Yes, I could have gone to court and fought this. But, that would mean taking an auto home (Rs. 500). Then going to court etc. After a long drawn out argument in the police station, the Inspector offered to find me representation in court for Rs. 300 cash. Given the options I had, you can guess what I did. 10 minutes and Rs 300 later, I was riding home in my bike.

Reading the above makes my blood boil. They make life so difficult for us that the only option available for us is to pay up. Without doubt, this is one godforsaken country. Sadly, I can't figure out a way to get out.

[arun_josie]

Spotted RTO officials at BG Road - NICE Road Junction this morning(8:30 AM), they were there till 12:30 PM. Saw couple of TN 70(Hosur), WB, KL vehicles owners caught and discussing with them..

[bdman]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Please find the link.

https://www.change.org/en-IN/petitio...s-in-karnataka

Thank for sharing the link. But I did not sign it. I think we can do better.

Why are we agreeing to pay double tax to begin with? First of all "life time" tax should be abolished. It is unfair and unreasonable to begin with. I cannot think of any other country that has it.

Now if the States in India choose to collect it (because it makes their life easier) then it should be just that. Once the tax is paid, it is paid. If one State wants to go ahead and collect their share from another State, because a resident moved, then that should be their responsibility. The States can have a very simple process of netting the arrivals against the departures and settle the score amongst themselves once a year. Why is the public being made to run about? If someone on team-bhp is willing to draft such a petition -- one which applies to all states across India -- I am sure we will be able to get a lot more signatures.

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

After taking leave and running from pillar to post for the entire day-

I finally have paid LTT for both my vehicles in Karnataka. Decided to get this done since my wife was getting scared of all the checking going on, and the resultant harassment me/ her might need to go through. Also soon I will be accepting a new job offer where the permanent location is Bangalore. (Unlike my earlier job where main office was in Chennai, and there was a risk of them calling me back anytime).

Now begins the painful process of getting NOC + Transfer of address + Re-registration + Tax refund.