Drink driving? You may lose your licence

Anxious to enforce road discipline ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games, the police and Delhi government’s transport department have decided to crack down on drink-driving, reports Harish V Nair.

Delhi’s drink-drivers will no longer have an easy ride.

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Anxious to enforce road discipline ahead of next year’s Commonwealth Games, the police and Delhi government’s transport department have decided to crack down on drink-driving.

The plan, following the lead of countries such as the US, the UK and China, is to suspend or revoke the licences of offenders. The police have already issued notices to 762 drink-drivers, asking why they should not be debarred from driving.

“An effort is being made to revoke driving licences and disqualify drivers involved in drunken driving on the basis of existing provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 and Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989,” Ajay Kumar Bisht, senior deputy commissioner (operations), transport department, Delhi government, told the Delhi High Court in an affidavit filed on Wednesday.

“This can be a deterrent,” said Anup J. Bhambani, a senior lawyer appointed by the court to assist in the case.

A court bench is hearing a public-interest petition seeking directions to end the menace of drink-driving.

Currently, the punishment for a first-time drink-driving offence is a maximum jail term of six months or a fine of Rs 2,000. This law, however, is hardly enforced.