Kerala HC: Using mobile while driving is not illegal

May 19, 2018 Hot from the Oven Valli Sarvani No comments

Up until now, talking on the phone while driving has been considered an offense in India.

Every day, people have gotten fined because of this law, since so many people talk on the phone while driving. However, this has now been changed.

The Kerala High Court has ruled that there is no such law in the Motor Vehicle Act that can penalize drivers who are talking on the phone while they are driving.

However, the Kerala High Court did add that a fine can be imposed on a driver if he or she is caught endangering public safety while talking on the phone.

The Rajasthan High Court recently made a verdict that directed the police to cancel the driving licenses of people who have been repeatedly caught speaking on the phone while driving. It has been generally established that talking on the phone can distract a driver.

However, the Kerala High Court ruled that there is no provision in the existing law to book a person for talking on the phone while driving.

The court gave these statements while they were hearing a petition filed by M. J. Santhosh after he was booked by the cops for talking on the phone while driving.

The court ruled that he can only be booked by the cops if he was endangering public safety with distracted driving. Due to this, Santhosh was let go without a fine.

The Kerala High Court also stated that there is no preexisting rule in the State Police Act that prevents drivers from talking on their mobile phones.

When the High Court of one state makes an order, the order is valid across every state in India.

Jammu and Kashmir is the one exception to this rule. This means that the order given by the Kerala High Court will apply across India.

However, this does not mean that it is recommended for drivers to talk on the phone while driving, since talking on the phone is still considered a driving distraction.

Image credit: Photo by Alexandre Boucher on Unsplash (Free for commercial use)