Tamil Nadu: Now mandatory for you to carry original driving licence

[anjan_c2007]

Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 Section 130 , it is not mandatory to carry the original driving licence. The recent order by the office of the DG, Police, Tamil Nadu state was struck down by the Hon'ble Madras High Court for the same reason on Friday last, being violative of the Motor Vehicles Act. The activism by the petitioner is praiseworthy.

http://www.thenewsminute.com/article...adras-hc-67741

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (excerpt)

130. Duty to produce licence and certificate of registration.
The driver of a motor vehicle in any public place shall, on demand by any police officer in uniform, produce his licence for examination.
Provided that the driver may, if his licence has been submitted to, or has been seized by, any officer or authority under this or any other Act, produce in lieu of the
licence a receipt or other acknowledgement issued by such officer or authority in respect thereof and thereafter produce the licence within such period, in such manner
as the Central Government may prescribe to the police officer making the demand.
(2) The conductor, if any, of a motor vehicle on any public place shall, on demand by any officer of the Motor Vehicles Department authorised
in this behalf, produce the licence for examination.
(3) The owner of a motor vehicle (other than a vehicle registered under section 60), or in his absence the driver or other person in charge of the
vehicle, shall, on demand by a registering authority or any other officer of the Motor Vehicles Department duly authorised in this behalf, produce the certificate
of insurance of the vehicle and, where the vehicle is a transport vehicle, also the certificate of fitness referred to in section 56 and the permit; and if any or all of
the certificates or the permit are not in his possession, he shall, within fifteen days from the date of demand, submit photo copies of the same, duly attested
in person or send the same by registered post the officer who demanded it.
Explanation. – For the purposes of this sub-section, “certificate of insurance” means the certificate issued under sub-section (3) of section 147.
(4) If the licence referred to in sub-section (2) or the certificates or permit referred to in sub-section (3), as the case may be, are not at the time in
the possession of the person to whom demand is made, it shall be a sufficient compliance with this section if such person produces the licence or
certificates or permit within such period in such manner as the Central Government may prescribe, to the police officer or authority making the
demand :
Provided that, except to such extent and with such modifications as may be prescribed, the provisions this sub-section shall not apply to any person
required to produce the certificate of registration or the certificate of fitness of a transport vehicle.
Corresponding Law. – Section 130 corresponds to section 86 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939.
Objects and Reasons.– Clause 130 requires the driver of a motor vehicle to produce on demand by a Police Officer, the driving licence, registration
certificate, fitness certificate in the case of transport vehicle.

But while travelling long distances, its always preferable to carry all original documents.

[R2D2]

Originally Posted by anjan_c2007

But while travelling long distances, its always preferable to carry all original documents.

Absolutely. I always carry my DL, registration card (MH had a smart card as the RC, since discontinued) and the insurance document PLUS the PUC.

I've been subjected to random checks twice, once for DL and once for registration/insurance by some over enthusiastic traffic cops in KA (mine is an MH registered vehicle after all) and thanked my stars that all the documents were with me at that time.

And no, with the kind of not-so-tech-savvy cops that I've come across in MH/KA/GA showing them electronic documents from digital lockers or cloud storage is simply not going to work. I expect them to say "Please show original saaar!!" Cloud storage or not, it's best to carry the original documents on long distance journeys whether intra or inter State.

[greenhorn]

Has it been struck down? I thought it was stayed temporarily?

[sgiitk]

@R2D2; I thought the over zealous KA cops were particularly after TN cars. My son had UP registered cars in Manipal for almost a decade with no issues. Occasionally when the cops showed up for checking the grapevine was prompt in sending the information, and people avoided the main roads.

[aadya]

Originally Posted by sgiitk

@R2D2; I thought the over zealous KA cops were particularly after TN cars. My son had UP registered cars in Manipal for almost a decade with no issues. Occasionally when the cops showed up for checking the grapevine was prompt in sending the information, and people avoided the main roads.

Udupi/Manipal being educational hub they are not so stringent. Even in Bangalore they don't target educational institutions. There primary targets are New luxury vehicles from low tax states and they keep noticing the usual patterns to make sure that a vehicle is indeed being used continuously before checking. Otherwise they don't do a random check on non-violating/old vehicles, TN or otherwise.

[Ragavsr]

The Tamil Nadu transport department on Friday has informed the Madras high court that carrying original driving licence by motorists while driving vehicles is indispensable.

In his counter to the batch of petitions challenging the department’s notification, the transport commissioner said the new rule was introduced based on the recommendations of the Committee headed by Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan, a retired judge of apex court. The insistence of original driving license was the fallout of the stringent directions issued by the Road Safety Committee of the Supreme Court.

The transport commissioner said the panel, headed by Justice K.S. Radhakrishnan, constituted in 2014 to reduce the number of accidents in Tamil Nadu, had reported that road accidents are very high in Tamil Nadu when compared to other states. In August 2015, the committee had recommended suspension of the DL for the offences listed by it.

The counter further said that the committee has been time and again issuing several directions, the last one was on April 24 this year, which expressed its deep concern over the increase in the number of accidents and deaths.

It also expressed its displeasure on the issue for not implementing its directions to suspend the DLs of the offenders. The committee is regularly monitoring the accident scenario in the state. From January to July this year, the police had booked 58, 32,120 offences including 1, 79,230 cases of drunken driving. But the cases could not be referred to the RTOs concerned for suspension/cancellation of DLs in the absence of non-availability of the DLs at the time of booking the offences, the counter said.

The counter added that section 130 (1) of the Motor Vehicles Act makes it mandatory to produce the driving license if demanded by a police officer. The word original is not there in the rules as there is no need to mention it.

The DL to be produced by a driver is the document issued by the transport department as defined in Sec. 3. In other Acts also, whenever a document is mentioned, it means the original only, unless the law specifically mentions copy thereof, the counter clarified. Latest notification mandates carrying the original licence compulsory. The Tamil Nadu Lorry Owners Federation and Traffic Ramasamy challenged the notification. The matter adjourned to September 15 for further hearing.

Source : Deccan Chronicle

My views on it : A highly regressive move that will only encourage more corruption

1. Carrying original Licences means more chances of getting lost /misplaced / damaged.
2. While the Central Government is promoting the use of E- Locker based digital driving licences , the move is simply contradictory to the core.
3. The cops and the RTO have the database of driving license number. The onus should be on them to verify the licence numbers, and they have the data and equipment to do so.
4. Incase the licence being suspended, the notice can be sent to the address of the licence holder and and any such action can be black marked on the database as well.
5. Carrying original license papers will only increase corruption. Corrupt cops will refuse to return the original license without taking a bribe whether the offence is committed or not.
6. In case of minor accidents, there are a few retarded vehicle owners who ask for original driving licences as collateral for compensation. Heck, I have read in this very forum team bhpians doing this deplorable act.
7. The Motor Vehicle Act is so unambiguous. It doesn't mention that original must be carried . Yet hyperactivity on part of the judiciary makes them interpret the rule as they have, insensitive big the struggles faced by the common man as usual.
8. High time , the Central Government brings in an amendment to ensure copy of licence would be valid. The E- Locker based licence is also a copy of licence as well.
9. This looks like a plot to earn more bribe revenue both for the police and the Transport Ministry of the most corrupt state in the country.

[phamilyman]

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

My views on it : A highly regressive move that will only encourage more corruption

Surprising to hear your strong criticism - NCR has had this rule for long. Here's a sample: http://www.hindustantimes.com/delhi-...&meta-geo=---- (2012)

Everyone does just fine. I have always carried my driving license since I started driving 17+ years back, as do most of my friends circle. We have just gotten used to it I guess. And I would argue NCR to be more unsafe than my 2 years in Chennai

[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by Ragavsr

Carrying original Licences means more chances of getting lost /misplaced /damaged

This isn't the governments problem is it? If you lost your license or misplaced your wallet, how can you blame the government for that? To be honest, how many of us have lost our licenses? A few at the most.

I support the move provided a lot of the problems you highlight are indeed addressed. A cop can ask for your license but he/she has no right to take it away from you. I am not sure what the rule book states.

I am pretty sure that by law, the only person authorized to even ask for your license are the Cops, Traffic Cops. Nobody else has the right.

I consider something like a PAN card to be as valuable as a license. Do I carry a copy of it? No.

Now I will admit to carrying a copy of my license and not the original. An attested copy though. If a cop decides to take it away from me, that does not mean I walk away from the scene knowing that I have the original as back up. That attested copy is as good as an original to me. If the government wants me to start carrying the original and not a copy (even attested), I see no problem with that.

[itwasntme]

I've carried my original DL (along with my voter ID, PAN etc.) for the last 24 years in my wallet whenever I step out of my house. I see no challenges in this rule and welcome it.

With modern chip licences, it is important that it can be verified by scanning the embedded data. The number of people with fake DLs is alarming.

[Thirugnnanam]

I am reproducing the lines from DL linked in my Digilocker account. It says, "This DL certificate is generated by DigiLocker as per data provided by issuing authority in the National Registry of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways"

Take cognizance of the highlighted part. Isn't this supposedly enough to stand this document as original? Even if one contends that this document could be forged, the cops always have means to verify the DL No. So, why can't this digital document be taken for original? Convenient for everyone as almost all of us have a smartphone, and no risk of losing the original.

--
Thirugnnanam

[y2ksrs]

Originally Posted by blackwasp

Folks, there is a simple solution already implemented by government of India. https://digilocker.gov.in - Here, one can get digitally signed documents like vehicle registration, driver's license, Aadhaar card, CBSE mark sheets etc. The only catch is your name on Aadhaar and other documents must be same and your number linked to Aadhaar should be working

I have not had any success in downloading my Tamil Nadu drivers licence to DigiLocker. I have had my car and bike registration certificates linked in DigiLocker, but I have never had success in linking my driver's licence there. Been trying for more than a year now without success. Yes, the names in both my DL and Aadhaar do match, so no issues there. I'm guessing the TN licence number should be entered in a different format than what's mentioned in the DL?

[ghodlur]

I do agree that the original driving licence should be carried always but the issue I am seeing with this is the licence if smart card does tend to get smudged and start missing some key information. The letters tend to get erased and might become illegible. The photo tends to get blurred etc. The fact is that most of us carry the card in the wallet and tends to lose the shape too resulting in cracking of the edges. Now if someone tells that you need to carry the licence separately would be too much for asking.

[Thirugnnanam]

Originally Posted by y2ksrs

I have not had any success in downloading my Tamil Nadu drivers licence to DigiLocker. I have had my car and bike registration certificates linked in DigiLocker, but I have never had success in linking my driver's licence there. Been trying for more than a year now without success. Yes, the names in both my DL and Aadhaar do match, so no issues there. I'm guessing the TN licence number should be entered in a different format than what's mentioned in the DL?

I have TN licence, and linked it successfully to DigiLocker. It took me two or three attempts. IIRC, licence no. should be entered without any space in between. With some attempts, I'm sure you should be able to do it.

[ssambyal1980]

Originally Posted by aadya

http://www.newindianexpress.com/citi...r-1646999.html

Link to the actual newspaper report. According to the report "Honorable" minister has introduced this measure to curb the drivers' with suspended licenses from continuing to drive? Many questions arise in my mind.

1. Are these people capable of really holding such responsible positions?(With their very high MENSA scores)
2.Where are they in this digital age?
3.Why can't the police have a tab connected to digital database which has link to all the driving licences issued/actions taken and the vehicle registration?
4.What checks and balances they have from preventing the cops by retaining the licences and harass the public?(May be that is the whole idea - to increase cops income rather than increasing the salary)


PS : MODS please merge or delete this thread if there is any other relevant thread or can be made as a thread on what documents to carry while driving.

Thanks for the useful update. Although its been a common practice among many motorists to carry xerox copies of DL and other documents while driving, the fact remains that it is advisable to carry the driving licence in original at all times when driving. It is not worth arguing with the traffic cops, who most of the time are adamant to pick faults in the motorists. From my personal driving experience in the states of Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and the NCR have seen that one is expected to produce original DL on demand by the traffic authorities. Along with the original DL, the driver is also mandatorily expected to carry in original the Registration Certificate of the vehicle along with PUC. The only document which is exempted to be carried in original is the Insurance Policy of the vehicle. Nonetheless its a different story altogether that most of the traffic offenders caught fail to produce none of the above documents when demanded.

Now a days the DLs come in the form of smart cards with micro chips embedded in them which contains all the information regarding the holder but the problem lies in the fact that most of the traffic cops don't have required gadgets which can read the information stored in the chips. Now this is surely a impediment in the dream of making the nation digital.

Regards

[aadya]

Few more questions and perspectives as part of the discussion.

1.Appreciate many people feel that its not a big deal to carry original, but what advantage cops have by having original licence in hand. They always can detain/impound the vehicle in case of accident. They always can take down the licence number of the person violating traffic rules and send notice or take action.

2.Still my argument is that, in this digital age carrying originals has to be done away with, any details needed can be verified online instantly. It made sense to carry originals 5 years back, not now.

3.If e-adhaar letter, which can be printed any number of times, can serve as a identity, we can always have a certified-verifiable digital copy of the licence.

4.When we stand in the police station for hours to get back any original document we would understand how our system works.