The Orissa High Court Tuesday asked district collectors and superintendents of police (SP) to prevent the misuse of red beacons atop official vehicles.
The high court has asked district officials to ensure that the Orissa Motor Vehicle Rules 1993 are adhered to and those who are not entitled to use red beacons must remove them by March 3.
Hearing a petition filed by an NGO Utkal Vidyarthi Abhijan, the two judge bench consisting of acting Chief Justice I.M. Quddusi and Justice Sanju Panda directed all SPs, collectors and police commissioners to curb the “rampant” misuse of red beacons.
The petitioner had claimed that red beacons are flaunted on official vehicles despite the users not being entitled to it.
“We had appealed the high court to curb the misuse of red beacons as there is a rampant misuse in the state. As per the law, only 42 state officials including the chief minister, cabinet ministers, and high court justices are entitled to use red beacons, but everyone flaunts it atop official vehicles,” said Nishikant Mishra, general secretary of Utkal Vidyarthi Abhijan.
“The rules are flaunted rampantly by officers. Already letters have been issued to 88 officers to remove red beacons from their vehicles but they have not done so,” said his counsel D.K. Mahapatra.
