Authority to levy speedcam fines: Kerala HC seeks govt's views

KOCHI: The Kerala high court has sought the views of the state government on a petition challenging the authority of Hi-Tech Traffic Enforcement Control Room to impose fines on vehicles caught on speed cameras.
Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan V sought the views of the government after considering during admission hearing a petition (WP-C No. 23302/2020) filed by Siju Kamalasanan of Maradu through advocate S Abhilash.
Hi-Tech Traffic Enforcement Control Room is operated by Kerala Police at Thycaud in Thiruvananthapuram and the charge memo is issued to vehicle owners by a police inspector there.
The charge memo was issued to the petitioner for alleged speed violation at Kulakkada in Kollam and was directed to pay a fine of Rs1,500. He was also asked to show cause for not taking action that may lead to cancelation of licence or vehicle registration.
During the hearing, advocate Abhilash argued that the police inspector at Thycaud has no territorial jurisdiction to issue the charge memo. He also has no jurisdiction to issue a showcause notice for initiating action under provisions of Motor Vehicles Act as only the licensing authority has such jurisdiction, the counsel contended.
It was also submitted by the counsel that state government or such authority is required to place appropriate traffic signs in the area where speed is sought to be regulated in addition to issuing a notification in the official gazette. No such signs were placed in the area where cameras are stealthily placed by the authorities and users of public way are not informed about camera surveillance. This amounts to serious violation of privacy of individuals, the counsel told the court.
Following the submissions, the court directed the government pleader to file a statement addressing the issues raised by the petitioner and posted the case for hearing after three weeks.