[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Originally Posted by vipinendran

Taking away vehicles seems to be the norm in Bangalore, Is it just about cabs or even private vehicles ? http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...039-draft.html But, if my memory serves me right, I think there is a supreme court judgement preventing private vehicles to be forcibly taken away for election duty.

Another feather in the cap of Bangalore Police guys. First it was the drive and harassment of other-state vehicles for duty in the name of targets, now this!

Basic courtesy would have been to inform the drivers beforehand. Instead they seem to be locking up unsuspecting drivers on duty!

"I was on my way to MG Road to pick up a client. But, when a policeman asks for a drop, you can't refuse. I took him to the college, but after we entered the grounds, the gates were locked behind me and I was informed that the cab was procured for election duty. When I protested, the sub-inspector abused me and even slapped me twice."

M A Saleem, Additional Commissioner (Traffic and Security), said procurement of vehicles was legal and common during all elections. "I spoke to major travel companies a few months ago and requested them to provide vehicles for election duties. None of them, however, responded and hence we have been forced to commandeer cabs on road."

[Sonubbsr]

well my two cents would be, try taking a smaller car for a change, a hatchback, if its possible.
Place a press logo, or a doctor logo on your car, and you seldom get stopped(Same with me, jus that I am a doc. :P )
Carry a medical certificate, that you cannot stand for a long period of time and you can get through at the police check gates easily, as they would not delay a patient.
Never carry a gas cylinder, any amount of alcohol, cash amounting to INR 15,000 +, any arms(guns, large knives etc.) and you would not be bothered much.
As far as the political people are concerned, no matter what figure you have, a white shirt, blue jeans and white sports shoes would get you through 99% of the times.
Ohh, by the way, happy journey!!

[arjab]

Originally Posted by anujmishra

I will be driving Tata Safari during these hounded states during peak election time. Tata Safari (SUV) is one of the favorite vehicle for election duty and in these stated they forcibly impound some private vehicles as well.

@anujmishra:
sincerely suggest, if it is possible, change your vehicle to a hatch or it will be best if you can re-plan your journey by train or bus.

I say this because on 2nd of April at 4pm in the afternoon my friend's Ecosport (Ecoboost top end variant, 2-weeks old done 600 kms approx) has been requisitioned (on that day itself), as he was travelling back to Kolkata from Durgapur. He was driving solo. This happened near the Palsit end of the Durgapur Expressway, near the toll booth. Apparently the cops while taking his vehicle said "....bah..eta darun gaari..." (Translated: Wow...this is an excellent car).
All the pleadings of my friend fell on deaf ears. The cops, however, were kind enough, (if you can call it so), do drop him at the nearest station for him to travel back to Kolkata.
Last i heard from him was he was trying through (he has political connections) to find out who / which department will be using his vehicle and is trying,through his sources, to limit the usage period of his vehicle, so that he gets it back at the earliest.

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by BeingCynical

Anyone have any idea on the situation prevailing in Maharashtra; more specific in Pune? Scared a lot after reading the entire thread and more so when I have a Safari of mine. Perfect vehicle to be impounded.

Please do not be city specific.
A few states have notorious history of procuring private vehicles and Maharashtra does not figure in the list, as of now.

Originally Posted by vipinendran

Taking away vehicles seems to be the norm in Bangalore, Is it just about cabs or even private vehicles ? http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...039-draft.html But, if my memory serves me right, I think there is a supreme court judgement preventing private vehicles to be forcibly taken away for election duty.

Vipin you cannot argue with the police about a Supreme Court judgement.
On the spot the only way is to pleade and if the inspector is kind enough or reasonable he will let you go. You can clearly understand there is clear-cut instructions from the top bosses and the inspector is also under pressure to meet his quota.

Originally Posted by arjab

@anujmishra:
sincerely suggest, if it is possible, change your vehicle to a hatch or it will be best if you can re-plan your journey by train or bus.

I say this because on 2nd of April at 4pm in the afternoon my friend's Ecosport (Ecoboost top end variant, 2-weeks old done 600 kms approx) has been requisitioned (on that day itself), as he was travelling back to Kolkata from Durgapur. He was driving solo. This happened near the Palsit end of the Durgapur Expressway, near the toll booth. Apparently the cops while taking his vehicle said "....bah..eta darun gaari..." (Translated: Wow...this is an excellent car).
All the pleadings of my friend fell on deaf ears. The cops, however, were kind enough, (if you can call it so), do drop him at the nearest station for him to travel back to Kolkata.
Last i heard from him was he was trying through (he has political connections) to find out who / which department will be using his vehicle and is trying,through his sources, to limit the usage period of his vehicle, so that he gets it back at the earliest.

Well Arjab it is a WB registered car, here we are talking mainly about out-of-state cars crossing through the state.

For Anuj, this is exactly what I tried to say in the earlier posts. Look the election in Kolkata is scheduled on 12/05 and the requisition of cars are already underway. The police and the RTO have a dead line within which they have to arrange a certain number of vehicles. By the time you'll cross WB, maybe between 02 to 04 of May, this process would already be over. Closer to the election date the police will have many other issues to deal with and they will, in all probability, not standing on the highways looking for vehicles to be requisitioned.

Since you said that you need to perform this journey and you need to take the Safari, please don't be tensed. Go ahead but be vigilant on the road.

Wish you a safe journey.

[vipinendran]

Originally Posted by Sommos

Please do not be city specific.
Vipin you cannot argue with the police about a Supreme Court judgement.
On the spot the only way is to pleade and if the inspector is kind enough or reasonable he will let you go. You can clearly understand there is clear-cut instructions from the top bosses and the inspector is also under pressure to meet his quota.
.

While I agree you cannot argue with the police, what the police is doing is robbery, They are not supposed to take away any vehicle without the consent of the owner, Well if the police behave like goondas especially in certain states, then they have to be pulled up by the law of the land for harrassing the common man. Here are some references that may help. "a private vehicle could be requisitioned only with the owner’s consent."http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110414/jsp/calcutta/story_13852980.jsp and another one http://www.telegraphindia.com/111032...y_13744011.jsp Now if the police is still doing it it is daylight robbery and one can immediatly bring it to the notice of the court and punish these people for "Contempt of court" also.

[tsk1979]

Originally Posted by vipinendran

While I agree you cannot argue with the police, what the police is doing is robbery, They are not supposed to take away any vehicle without the consent of the owner, Well if the police behave like goondas especially in certain states, then they have to be pulled up by the law of the land for harrassing the common man. Here are some references that may help. "a private vehicle could be requisitioned only with the owner’s consent."http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110414/jsp/calcutta/story_13852980.jsp and another one http://www.telegraphindia.com/111032...y_13744011.jsp Now if the police is still doing it it is daylight robbery and one can immediatly bring it to the notice of the court and punish these people for "Contempt of court" also.

So it is actually against the law to take a private vehicle without owners consent. Since HC judgements are binding all over India, I hope people who had their cars forcibly taken away do file a case, and make sure that police officials are taken to task.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by vipinendran

Taking away vehicles seems to be the norm in Bangalore, Is it just about cabs or even private vehicles ? http://www.deccanherald.com/content/...039-draft.html But, if my memory serves me right, I think there is a supreme court judgement preventing private vehicles to be forcibly taken away for election duty.

This is last year's article btw

[vipinendran]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

So it is actually against the law to take a private vehicle without owners consent. Since HC judgements are binding all over India, I hope people who had their cars forcibly taken away do file a case, and make sure that police officials are taken to task.

Excatly and if the police is still going ahead with such actions then I am sure it would be viewed very seriously by the highest court of our land, The supreme court. Yes, there are times we have to fight for justice and it took one Mr.Sachin to fight against such injustice.

[deadguy25]

This is bad. I did not know that our country was doing this too, I should say I have been ignorant.

This is extremely bad. We buy a vehicle out of our money (hard earned in most cases), pay the God-forsaken taxes, get it serviced, maintain it, etc and finally if it has to be grabbed like this, then it is extremely bad. What can a normal person without high connections do, in such a scenario? Beg the cops to let-go of him or pray that his\her vehicle does not get converted into a junk box?

In one of the posts I read that there is a supreme court law which states that they cannot take the vehicle away without notification. Even if they did take the vehicle away, and say the owner gets an order for the vehicle to be released, wont it be turned into a junk-box? Or after returning the vehicle, the cops may ensure the vehicle owner is booked for some reason or the other?

What is our country getting into? Sad very sad.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Errr why is this so astounding. We have even more tyrannical rules. For example, the govt can permanently requisition your land or your home if it feels it needs to make a road there, and the compensation may be just a small fraction of the real market value.

This is very true. Going through it currently. No news about compensation at all. We have no say whatsoever. Even if a case is filed for better compensation, they say it takes years. For the land acquired by the Govt, they have paved solid tarmac and almost thrown it open (not formally thoguh) to the public. The land owners (farmers), are mute spectators.


@ mods, please merge the posts. Sorry for back-to-back posts.

[vipinendran]

Here is the story of Sachin Halder who took on the bullies : http://www.telegraphindia.com/109050...y_10920159.jsp Get inspired

[Sommos]

Originally Posted by vipinendran

While I agree you cannot argue with the police, what the police is doing is robbery, They are not supposed to take away any vehicle without the consent of the owner, Well if the police behave like goondas especially in certain states, then they have to be pulled up by the law of the land for harrassing the common man. Here are some references that may help. "a private vehicle could be requisitioned only with the owner’s consent."http://www.telegraphindia.com/1110414/jsp/calcutta/story_13852980.jsp and another one http://www.telegraphindia.com/111032...y_13744011.jsp Now if the police is still doing it it is daylight robbery and one can immediatly bring it to the notice of the court and punish these people for "Contempt of court" also.

Strictly speaking, Vipin, the Election Commission through the different agencies are permitted by law to do so. Now if you go through the same Telegraph article you'll find this :

A team of senior officials, led by chief secretary Samar Ghosh, discussed the issue on March 28, following which chief electoral officer S.K. Gupta declared that there was no ban on requisitioning private vehicles for election duty. “The ruling was in relation to the particular case (of Haldar), in which there were procedural lapses,” Gupta had said.

So you see how court rulings are interpreted by senior administrative officers.

Originally Posted by tsk1979

So it is actually against the law to take a private vehicle without owners consent. Since HC judgements are binding all over India, I hope people who had their cars forcibly taken away do file a case, and make sure that police officials are taken to task.

I don't think the police personnel are fully to be blamed for this, they are infact carrying out the instructions given to them. The full authority during the election period vests with the administrative machinery of the state and the Chief Electoral Officer of the state. Surely how the go about their duty is their business and they can be blamed for rude behaviour etc.

[vipinendran]

Originally Posted by Sommos

So you see how court rulings are interpreted by senior administrative officers.
I don't think the police personnel are fully to be blamed for this, they are infact carrying out the instructions given to them. The full authority during the election period vests with the administrative machinery of the state and the Chief Electoral Officer of the state. Surely how the go about their duty is their business and they can be blamed for rude behaviour etc.

Dear Sommos, That is excatly the problem we in India have, We are so patient and allow everyone to whip us with such acts and then learn to live with it. It is high time many more Sachin's come out and challenge such nonsense indulged in by the police and other goverment officials of a few states.

[gabrielthomas]

This is totally an insane Law that has been passed and how can the govt just take away our vehicles like that? if they are requisitioning a land it means that it will be put to some use which could be utilized by the public, but requisitioning a private vehicle is of what use to anyone other than the person who is going to earn thousands of crores in the next few years?

On what basis this rule has been formed? There is no logic in it. This amazing rule was formed in 1951 and rules to curb gang rapists are not even formed yet? What an Irony!!

[condor]

Does any one have information about the specific provision in the laws that state / allow requisitioning of private vehicles for election duty ?

Election commission has the government vehicles (or taxis on contract) for this. Police have their vehicles for their use. So who would want private vehicles ?

[Traveller Nayak]

Originally Posted by condor

Does any one have information about the specific provision in the laws that state / allow requisitioning of private vehicles for election duty ?

Election commission has the government vehicles (or taxis on contract) for this. Police have their vehicles for their use. So who would want private vehicles ?

I have spent past few hours looking through the material available on the web.

Short answer - it is 'The Representation of People Act, 1951': http://lawmin.nic.in/legislative/ele...ct,%201951.pdf

Look for section 160 for power to call for private vehicle and section 167 for penalty!

Then there are few guidelines / notes issued by the Election Commission to the Returning Officers - looking at the language of those it gives them the power.

Unable to find the Supreme Court judgement which someone mentioned in the thread.

I am scheduled to travel 10th morning, passing through Delhi and UP to Uttarakhand and returning 13th morning. Though the intensity of the discussion here has given rise to some concern - I am, however, doing this trip.