In an attempt to make the process issuing driving licences, the Delhi government has decided that the practical driving tests required to be cleared before awarding a DL will have to be videographed, the Delhi High Court has said. The AAP (Aam Admi Party) government told a bench of Acting Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice C Hari Shankar that the videography of practical tests will be into operation starting today across all of the 13 zonal transport department offices. An agency has been appointed for the recording of practical driving tests.
Furthermore, the transport department also told the High Court that the driving test videos would be uploaded on the department’s official website. Considering all submissions, the High Court asserted that the move would bring better transparency in the entire process of issuing DLs and would go a long way in allaying apprehensions of corruption.
The High Court directed the Delhi government to submit a status report in eight weeks. The next hearing on the matter will be done on May 22.
Earlier, the Delhi government had assured the court that it had taken steps to curb issuing of fake licences and that it had revoked several licences which were improperly granted. The list of these revoked licences was also displayed on the transport department’s website.
The high court was hearing a PIL filed by activist Pawan Kumar, who has alleged that some corrupt officials of the state transport department were issuing driving licences to untrained and unskilled people after taking hefty bribes.
There has been a spike in the number of road accidents leading to the death of innocent persons due to the issuance of direct heavy transport vehicle driving licences to unskilled persons, the plea had said.
The petitioner had contended that this practice has been going on since 1997 and sought a CBI probe into it so that erring officials can be dealt with in accordance with law.
