Police officials are not authorized to disqualify the driving license of a person - Calcutta HC

Case: Priyasha Bhattacharyya vs State of West Bengal]

Recently, the Calcutta High Court held that police officials are not authorized to disqualify the driving license of a person under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 ("Act"). Only the licensing authority has the power to issue and suspend the driving license.

The State government relied upon a 2016 notification issued by it that authorized the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Traffic) and Superintendent of Police of the Districts to disqualify or revoke offending driver's licenses if it is found necessary for the purpose of the Act.

Single-judge Justice Moushumi Bhattacharya noted that though this notification refers to Section 19 of the Act, there was no evidence to suggest that the provisions of the West Bengal Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 were been amended to reflect such an authorization.

Justice Bhattacharya said that the notification in the instant case results in confusion regarding the license impounding powers of the authority.

The court was hearing a plea filed by the petitioner whose license was suspended by the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Kolkata on May 20, 2022, for overspeeding. The police suspended her license as she was driving at a speed of 60 km per hour on a road that allowed a speed of 30 km per hour

Held

The court ruled that since the police do not have the authority to suspend a person's license, the orders passed by the ACP, Kolkata, must be quashed.