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Sometimes, the law is not an ass!<br>
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<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://blog.taragana.com/law/2010/02/10/cycle-rickshaws-need-of-the-hour-ban-arbitrary-court-20114/">http://blog.taragana.com/law/2010/02/10/cycle-rickshaws-need-of-the-hour-ban-arbitrary-court-20114/</a><br>
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The Delhi High <b>Court</b> Wednesday termed the ban <span
class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD3">on cycle</span>
rickshaws on the city’s arterial roads “arbitrary” and stressed that
non-motorised vehicles were the need of the hour in the wake of rising
pollution and <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD5">global warming</span>.
<p><span id="more-20114"></span></p>
<p>A division bench comprising Chief <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD11">Justice</span>
Ajit <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD10">Prakash</span> Shah, Justice S.
Muralidhar and Justice Ravinder Bhatt said: <span class="IL_AD"
id="IL_AD12">Planet earth</span>
seems to be running out of options unless unorthodox and sometimes
unpopular policies are pursued. Whatever be the nuances about the
technical soundness of the exact extent of global warming , the signs
are self evident - erratic weather patterns, drying rivers and a
depleting water table, food insecurity, retreating glaciers,
drastically reducing forest cover. </p>
<p>Turning down <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD9">the traffic</span>
police’s submission that cycle <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD7">rickshaw</span>
pullers create a nuisance on the roads, <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD6">the
court</span> said: It would be important for public authorities,
particularly <span class="IL_AD" id="IL_AD2">law enforcement agencies</span>,
to display sensitivity when exercising the coercive powers under
various statutes to the vulnerable situation in which the
underprivileged populations, of which the rickshaw pullers form an
integral part, are placed. </p>
<p>This is a fit case where authorities should explore all options to
reduce road congestion and consider all proposals from an overall or
holistic perspective, the bench said while forming a committee to
explore the options available. </p>
<p>Our country is vast with an ever-growing population, alarming
numbers of whom continue to swell the list of the unemployed. In these
circumstances, any opportunity towards gainful employment, howsoever
slight, is worth exploring - it may be part-time employment or
full-time, it may be seasonal or regional. If these are recognised as
legitimate, the conclusion that cyclerickshaw plying is offensive to
human dignity cannot be understood at all, the bench remarked. </p>
<p>Terming that every person has the right to earn their living, the
court
said:Prohibiting a class of impoverished persons altogether of the
chance of livelihood in a category of non-dangerous commercial
activity, i.e. hiring cycle rickshaws for plying cannot be supported as
a reasonable restriction. </p>
<p>Quashing the Municipal Corporation of Delhis (MCD) policy of ‘owner
should be plier’, the <b>court</b>
said: The owner-plier policy, even though valid 22 years ago, cannot be
regarded as non-discriminatory and valid now. It is arbitrary. </p>
<p>The court was hearing a petition by NGO Manushi and Initiative for
Transportation & Development Programmes that the court’s
order and the MCD’s policy of banning rickshaws from arterial roads and
Chandni Chowk area in Old Delhi was arbitrary and violated the
fundamental rights ofrickshaw pullers. </p>
<p>The petition also criticised the ceiling imposed on the number of
licences granted to rickshaw pullers in the city. </p>
<p>The bench prohibited the MCD from confiscating and crushing cycle
rickshaws without licence, terming the action unjustified. </p>
<p>Stressing the need for non-motorised mode of transport, the court
said: The figures of registered motor vehicles are in excess of 60
lakh… As far as private commercial vehicles catering to the public are
concerned, there are 76,090 auto rickshaws and 30,809 taxis on the
road. Thus, there is a felt need for non-motorized road transportation,
which the cycle rickshaws offer.” </p>
<p>The <b>court</b> then directed the MCD to provide parking space to
cycle rickshaws as well.</p>
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