A division bench of the Gwalior bench of the MP high court has ordered that not more than three passengers be carried in an auto rickshaw. The high court has said that the license of the auto rickshaw would be cancelled in case it is found to be overloaded beyond its capacity of three passengers.

A bench of justices SK Gangele and BK Dubey while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Avadhesh Singh Bhadoria said the transport department of the state government should ensure that overloading in auto rickshaws is not done and no additional seating space is created in contravention of the Motor Vehicles Act.

Bhadoria's PIL stated that 10-12 students are packed into auto rickshaws which endangers their lives. The court observed that the capacity of an auto rickshaw as per the Motor Vehicles Act is three passengers. The court further directed the transport department to ensure that auto rickshaws do not carry more passengers than that stipulated by the Motor Vehicles Act and that licenses of such auto rickshaws that do not follow the norms be cancelled.

Further, the court asked the concerned chief judicial magistrates to periodically check if the provisions are being followed. The court asked the state government to provide a compliance report within a month.