Patna High Court Orders Response on Rising Road Fatalities in Bihar Due to Lack of Motor Vehicle Inspectors | Patna News – Times of India
Patna: The Patna high court on Friday sought the state govt’s response to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed against the rising road accident deaths in Bihar, allegedly attributed to a shortage of motor vehicle inspectors (MVIs). This shortage is allegedly causing irregularities in the issuance of fitness certificates and driving licences.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarathi, while hearing the PIL filed by one Vishal Kumar, directed the state’s transport department to verify and respond to the petitioner’s allegation that out of 126 sanctioned posts for MVIs in Bihar, only 19 are currently functional.
The petitioner, a student of a govt engineering college, cited data from the Road Safety in India Status Reports 2023 published by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. According to the report, Bihar experienced an increase in road accident deaths per 1,00,000 population between 2019 and 2023 with an average surge of 23% or more during this period. The report also mentioned that road fatalities in Bihar continued to rise even after the implementation of the liquor prohibition law in April 2016.
The petitioner’s counsel, Vikas Kumar Pankaj, argued that the increase in road fatalities in Bihar was primarily due to the severe shortage of MVIs. He highlighted that although 78 new MVIs have been appointed, they remain ineffective as the transport department has yet to issue them user IDs required for their duties, effectively rendering them ‘toothless authorities’.”
The court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for January 10 next year.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice K Vinod Chandran and Justice Partha Sarathi, while hearing the PIL filed by one Vishal Kumar, directed the state’s transport department to verify and respond to the petitioner’s allegation that out of 126 sanctioned posts for MVIs in Bihar, only 19 are currently functional.
The petitioner, a student of a govt engineering college, cited data from the Road Safety in India Status Reports 2023 published by the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi. According to the report, Bihar experienced an increase in road accident deaths per 1,00,000 population between 2019 and 2023 with an average surge of 23% or more during this period. The report also mentioned that road fatalities in Bihar continued to rise even after the implementation of the liquor prohibition law in April 2016.
The petitioner’s counsel, Vikas Kumar Pankaj, argued that the increase in road fatalities in Bihar was primarily due to the severe shortage of MVIs. He highlighted that although 78 new MVIs have been appointed, they remain ineffective as the transport department has yet to issue them user IDs required for their duties, effectively rendering them ‘toothless authorities’.”
The court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for January 10 next year.
