When can the cops catch you?

Did I have to pay the fine? Could the police have seized my bike?

I met with an incident recently (13th April 2008).

I was riding the bike from RT Nagar, I had to go over the Mekhri circle flyover to take a right from Hebbal road to turn towards IISC road. I turned right while the signal was changing from green to orange.I did not want to stop abruptly and since orange light is meant as a warning, I continued driving. If I had applied a sudden break, the auto right behind me may have hit me.

A police constable jumped in front of me from the side of the road asking me to stop. I stopped and took all my documents assuming he wanted to verify my documents.

He asked me to pay a fine saying I jumped the signal. On explaining that I did not jump the signal and when I crossed it was orange, he asked me questions like ‘Which country are you from?, Do you know the meaning of orange light? Are you an idiot?… You can show your intelligence in the court…’ and started behaving arrogantly.

I answered all his questions properly. I also pointed to him that he had been standing perpendicular to the signal light, he may not have noticed the signal.I said I was very confident that I had not jumped the signal. He threatened me saying I can show my intelligence in arguing the case in the court and he will book a case. He said he will try to put all evidence against me including the camera.

I said I was sure the camera evidence will prove that I was not at fault. He threatened me saying that my vehicle will be seized and will be released only after the case is resolved in the court. So I asked if it’s compulsory for my vehicle to be seized even if I am going to appear in the court for the case.

Instead of answering he started shouting and raising his hands and stepped closer. It looked like he was going to hit me. So I just paid the fine and left the place.

At the same time, while I was conversing with this police officer, his colleague, a police constable, tried to jump in front of another auto. The auto driver applied a sudden break. A bike which was closely following this auto hit the auto. The bike driver and his wife on the pillion fell down and got injured.

Now I’d like to ask readers:
1. Are police officers authorized to seize the vehicle in such situations?
2. Under what conditions can a police officer seize the vehicle?
3. How does one handle such cases when the citizen is strong and does not hesitate to go the court, but want to avoid the inconvenience of his vehicle getting seized until court case is resolved and bike returned back to the citizen?

Comments:

  1. Raghu Raju says:

    I agree with Praveen Kumar and i would also like to know about the above mentioned situations. Is there any mobile court or something to help us, if we get under these kind of circumstances? As i heard from others, there is nothing that could help you faster when u were caught by Police (traffic). Also , none knows the clear picture of how and when can a traffic police sieze your vehicle/documents/D.L.
    If there is anyone with the needed knowledge could help us, it would be of a great help not only to us but also to other co-citizens.

    Thanks in advance for your help!!!!

  2. rajesh says:

    Atleast one should be happy they are not asking bribes and instead give receipt for the fine.
    I also heard that some duplicate receipt books are floating around, but I could not verify such claims. any idea how to find ?

  3. Deepa Mohan says:

    citizens feel helpless during such incidents as there seems to be no way of appealing or disagreeing with the police; they seem to lay down the law, often arbitrarily.

    It would help if the police had a grievance cell; but I suppose, in no time, this would be mired in red tape and form-filling.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Similar Story

Aarey colony has not been taken seriously by any government: Incumbent MP Gajanan Kirtikar

Gajanan Kirtikar, who joined hands with Eknath Shinde, says that SRA schemes should be allowed for Aarey residents to save the forest.

As India gets ready to vote to decide who will represent them in Parliament, Citizen Matters is speaking to elected Parliamentary representatives from Mumbai. We will ask them about the work they have done for the city, policies they have supported and why Mumbaikars should cast votes in their favour (or of their political parties). As part of this series, we spoke to Gajanan Kirtikar, who represented Mumbai North West for the past two terms. He is an active Parliamentarian who was one of top 10 MPs who asked the maximum number of questions during their tenure, according to a report…

Similar Story

Lok Sabha 2024: Know your MP — Gajanan Kirtikar, Mumbai North West

After long innings in politics, Gajanan Kirtikar faces the challenge of his son staying with Uddhav Thackeray's Shiv Sena in 2024 elections.

Name: Gajanan Kirtikar  Constituency: Mumbai North West Gajanan Kirtikar, 80 is an old hand in Maharashtra politics and has risen up the ranks of his party. He has always been with the Shiv Sena, having been part of the core team of Bal Thackeray, subsequently working under Uddhav Thackeray. He chose to move to the Shiv Sena faction led by present chief minister Eknath Shinde.  He served as a legislator for four terms between 1990 to 2009 and then entered the Parliament for two terms from 2014. He also served as the minister of state for home and tourism and…