Srinagar, Dec 6: A Srinagar court on Saturday convicted a man for allowing his minor child to drive a vehicle, an offence under Section 199-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and ordered cancellation of the vehicle’s registration for one year. The court also issued directions to authorities to curb underage driving.
The judgment was delivered by Special Mobile Magistrate (Traffic) Shabir Ahmad Malik in a challan filed by Srinagar Traffic Police against guardian Mushtaq Ahmad Buch of Ahmad Nagar. The accused pleaded guilty before the court.
Under Section 199-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, guardians or vehicle owners are deemed guilty if a minor commits a traffic offence unless they prove lack of knowledge or due diligence. The court noted that these conditions were not met and convicted Buch based on his voluntary plea.
While the offence carries a statutory penalty of three years’ simple imprisonment and a fine of ₹25,000, along with cancellation of vehicle registration for 12 months, the court granted the accused relief under the Probation of Offenders Act. He was directed to furnish a bond of ₹2 lakh for maintaining good behaviour for two years, with violation inviting the statutory sentence.
The vehicle registration of JK01AL-3276 has been canceled for 12 months.
In his observations, the magistrate highlighted alarming national road accident statistics, noting that over 8.10 lakh people died in road accidents in India between 2020 and 2024. The court urged citizens to follow traffic laws and adopt simple safety measures like wearing helmets and seatbelts.
The court strongly condemned the trend of minors driving vehicles, stressing the responsibility of parents, guardians, and school authorities. It directed the Commissioner Secretary, School Education Department (J&K), to circulate the judgment to all schools and educate students and parents about the dangers and legal consequences of underage driving.
It also suggested framing a “No Vehicle Policy for Minors” in schools and directed IGP Traffic J&K to conduct special drives against underage drivers.
With these orders, the challan was disposed of and consigned to records.(KNS).
