Court tells dealers to sell helmets with two-wheelers

It's official and it's also compulsory - the Delhi High Court on Thursday asked all two-wheeler dealers in the capital to make sure that their customers take home their new vehicles only after they have bought helmets.

It's official and it's also compulsory - the Delhi High Court on Thursday asked all two-wheeler dealers in the capital to make sure that their customers take home their new vehicles only after they have bought helmets.

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A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ajit Prakash Shah and Justice Manmohan asked all two-wheeler dealers to sell helmets along with two-wheelers and maintain the record in this regard.

However, the court said that it will pass a detailed order later on.

The counsel for government also informed the court that to implement this rule more effectively they would register a two-wheeler only if it is certified that the owner has bought a helmet too.

A Sep 16, 2005 amendment of Rule 138 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, makes it compulsory for two-wheeler makers to supply a helmet manufactured as per specifications of the Bureau of Indian Standards with every two-wheeler sold.

The court was hearing a public interest petition filed by the NGO Society for Awareness and Development against deliberate inaction of the government in implementing the Sep 2005 amendment.

"Injuries and deaths occur as either riders do not wear helmets or wear faulty helmets. In Delhi alone, more than 2,000 accidents of two-wheelers were reported till November 2008 in that year," the NGO said.