Karnataka High Court Issues Notice To State In Plea To Ensure Availability Of Helmets & Safety Harnesses For Children Above 9 Months Age

The Karnataka High Court on Thursday issued notice to the State government on a public interest litigation filed seeking a direction to the respondent to take urgent measures to ensure adequate availability of child safety helmets and child safety harnesses, for children from the age of nine months.

A division bench of Chief Justice Prasanna B Varale and Justice Krishna S Dixit issued notice to the respondent on the petition filed by Dr Archana Bhat K. The plea prays for directing the respondents to strictly implement Rule 138 (7) of the Central Motor Vehicle (Second Amendment) Rules 2022 and also implement Sections 129, 137, and 194 of the Motor Vehicles Act in letter and spirit.

The amendment reads thus: Rule 138 which specify “Signals and additional safety measures for motor vehicle” the following sub-clause (7) has been inserted: “(7) After one year from the date of publication of the Central Motor Vehicles (Second Amendment) Rules, 2022, the driver of a motorcycle shall ensure the following safety measures while carrying a child between the age of nine months and four years, on the vehicle as a pillion, namely: – (i) For children below four years, Safety harness shall be used for attaching the child to the driver of the motorcycle.

Explanation.- Safety harness is a vest to be worn by the child, which shall be adjustable, with a pair of straps attached to the vest and forming shoulder loops to be worn by the driver. This way, the upper torso of the child is securely attached to the driver. A feature by which this is achieved is by attaching the straps to the back of the vest and crossing the straps over the vest so that two large crossing-over loops are formed that pass between the legs of the passenger and child sits on the seat of the two-wheeler. The protective gear including Safety harness shall meet the following requirements till such time the specifications are prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards under the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016 (11 of 2016).

Specifications of Safety harness:

(a) Light weight, adjustable, waterproof and durable; (b) Heavy nylon/ multi-filament nylon material with high density foam with sufficient cushioning; (c) Shall be designed to hold weight upto 30 kg.

The court has directed the respondents to file their reply within six weeks and posted the matter for further hearing after vacation.

Case Title: DR ARCHANA BHAT K AND State of Karnataka & ANR

Case No: WP 27135/2023

Appearance: Advocate Nitin Ramesh for Petitioner.