In order to prevent underage driving, the J&K Transport Department on Friday issued an advisory to parents and guardians warning that parents of underage drivers would be upto three years in jail and Rs 25000 fine.
This advisory, which was released by the office of the Transport Commissioner, draws attention to Section 199A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which specifies strict penalties for parents or guardians of minors involved in driving offences.
According to the Act, if an offence is committed by a juvenile, the guardian or vehicle owner will be held liable for the contravention unless they can prove that they exercised due diligence in preventing the offence.
The penalties for such offences are severe.
Under Section 199A (2), guardians or owners may face imprisonment of up to three years and a fine of Rs. 25,000. Additionally, the registration of the vehicle involved in the offence could be cancelled for twelve months.
If a minor is involved in such an offence, they will also be disqualified from obtaining a driving license until they reach the age of eighteen.
The advisory states that if a juvenile commits an offence under the Act, his parents may face punishment through fines or other measures under the Juvenile Justice Act, 2000.
“If the offence has been committed by a juvenile, then such juvenile shall be punishable with such fines as provided in the Act while any custodial sentence may be modified as per the provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act 2000 (56 of 2000).
The advisory urged parents and guardians to desist from the practice of allowing their minor children to drive two wheeler or four –wheeler as the same is prohibited and punishable under the provisions of MV Act.
The parents have been to exercise caution and responsibility while ensuring that minors are not allowed to operate vehicles as this poses a significant risk to both the minors as well as the pedestrians and other commuters.