Deeply concerned about the alarming use of vehicles with tinted glasses in heinous crimes like kidnapping, rape and dacoity, the Supreme Court in a hard-hitting verdict on Friday banned the use of “black films” in the vehicles beyond the limit fixed in the Motor Vehicles Act.
“Alarming rise in heinous crime like kidnapping, sexual assault on women and dacoity have impinged upon the right to life and right to live in safe environment which are within the contours of Article 21 of the Constitution,” a bench of Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and Justices A.K. Patnaik and Swatanter Kumar said while directing the Centre and the states to enforce the provisions of the MV Act strictly to ban the use of “black films” beyond the permitted limit.
While giving a week’s time for enforcing the law, the Supreme Court said “the home secretary, director general/ commissioner of police of the respective states and the Centre shall ensure compliance with this direction. The directions contained in this judgement shall become operative and enforceable with effect from May 4.”
To ensure that vehicle owners do not resort to fixing the black films on their own in violation of the law, the top court permitted car manufactures to produce vehicles with “tinted glasses which have visual light transmission (VLT) with permitted limit.”
The permitted limit for windscreen, front and rear is 70 per cent and side glasses 40 per cent as per the Motor Vehicle Act, the court pointed out saying “no black film or any other material can be pasted on windscreens and side glasses of a vehicle.”
However, the court said that the governments could give exemption to VIP vehicles for the security reasons but for that purpose, the Centre and states have to laid down proper norms and set up committees, which would consider all such requirements.
“Be that as it may be, we do not with to enter upon the arena of the security and safety measures when the police department and home ministry consider such exemption appropriate,” the apex court said while referring to the security needs of VIPs provided “Z” and “Z-plus” security.
“Such cases will be considered by a committee consisting of DGP/ commissioner of police of the concerned state and home secretary of the state and the Centre,” the top court said in its 21-page verdict on a PIL, filed by Avishek Goenka.