Stringent law needed to curb menace of wheeling on public roads: Karnataka High Court

Existing statutory provisions are not capable for enforcement agencies to efficaciously curb the menace of wheeling, the High Court has said. | Photo Credit:

Taking enactment of the alarming emergence successful incidents of wheeling, a motorcycle stunt, connected nationalist roads, the High Court of Karnataka has said that it is the work of the State and its instrumentality enforcement agencies to legislate indispensable ineligible provisions and to instrumentality stringent measures to suppress this perilous enactment by plugging the loophole successful the law.

A plain speechmaking of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and the Indian Penal Code, 1860, it is recovered that the existing statutory provisions are not capable for enforcement agencies to efficaciously curb the menace of “wheeling”, the tribunal said portion pointing retired that perhaps, astatine the clip of enacting these laws, the legislators did not foresee oregon specifically contemplate that a two-wheeler would beryllium driven connected the hind instrumentality alone, and hence nary explicit penal proviso was envisaged to advert the said mischief.

Justice V. Srishananda made these observations portion refusing to assistance bail to Arbaz Khan, 29, a nonmigratory of Gangavati successful Koppal district, who was arrested connected the complaint of manhandling the constabulary who tried to halt him and his accomplices portion they were indulging successful wheeling connected a nationalist road.

No circumstantial provisions

“At present, specified acts are booked wrong the ambit of the wide offences of reckless oregon negligent driving. However, it is to beryllium noted that the lack of a circumstantial and indispensable proviso has resulted successful a legislative vacuum, affecting the efficacy of instrumentality enforcement agencies successful curbing the menace of wheeling, arsenic the offence of reckless driving is bailable successful nature,” the tribunal observed.

The tribunal said, “It [wheeling] is simply a trending menace successful the nationalist roadworthy which not lone endangers the rider and pillion rider of the motorcycle, but besides wide nationalist astatine large”.

Not acts of bravado

It is besides pertinent to enactment that enactment of wheeling, initially confined to municipality areas connected sufficiently wide and arterial roads, has extended its tentacles adjacent to agrarian areas, the tribunal said, portion pointing retired that the “younger procreation riders of the motorcycle are nether the misconception that the enactment of wheeling is bravado and indulge successful specified perilous stunts being unaware of the sedate risks progressive successful the said act”.

Published - May 13, 2025 10:25 p.m. IST