Tanvi Pilane
Published on: March 10, 2022 at 13:12 IST
A Petition was filed by the Road Transport Ministry in the Supreme Court against the Order of the Madras High Court that quashed the Raising of Speed Limits on Expressways to 100 kmph and on National Highways (NH) to 120 kmph in 2018.
In the Petition, the Ministry argued that it is empowered by the Motor Vehicle Act to notify the maximum speed limit for all types of roads in the country.
It was also contended by the Ministry that a proper study by experts had been conducted in which the Road Infrastructure Network and Improved Vehicle Engineering were taken into consideration. It was on the basis of this study that the raising of speed limits had been undertaken.
The Go-ahead to challenge the High Court Order was given by the Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and subsequently, the matter was placed before the Law Ministry.
Some of the Country’s top Law Officers favored the challenging of the order as it was argued that the order came more than three years after the notification of the revised speed limit.
The High Court had observed that there had not been any improvement in the compliance of road safety rules by motorists even with improved engine technology and road infrastructure.
The Court also observed that Speeding is one of the main causes of Road Accidents.
The Central Government’s decision was thus quashed by the High Court.