Private Vehicles On Public Roads Are Public Place, Orders Supreme Court

With its latest ruling, the Supreme Court overturned a 1999 Kerala High Court judgement that classified private cars on public roads as private space.

In a ruling issued by the Supreme Court on Monday, private vehicles on public roads are now to be considered as being a ‘public place’. This overturns a 1999 Kerala High Court ruling and can potentially have far-reaching consequences! The decision, which was rendered by a bench comprising of Justice Ashok Bhushan and Justice KM Joseph, effectively makes any public offence - like smoking - an offence in your private car as well. 

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The chain of events that led to this ruling is quite interesting. The court had to deliver a verdict on a petition filed by Mr. Satvinder Singh and others who were allegedly found in a drunken state in their private car while driving from Jharkhand to Bihar. Their car was stopped at the Rajauli check post at the state’s border for a routine check up. Although nothing incriminating was found in the vehicle, the men were subjected to a breath analyser test, after which Mr. Satvinder Singh was charged under the relevant provisional law. This led him to appeal his case and a petition at the Supreme Court, which led to this judgement. 

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Furthermore, Section 53(a) of the Bihar(Excise) Amendment Act 2016 states that,

“Consumption of alcohol in a public or prohibited area in the territory of State of Bihar is an offence.”

As such, it was the petitioner’s appeal that, since the car was stopped at the Bihar-Jharkhand border, it couldn’t be proven that they had consumed alcohol in the premises of the state. Interestingly, they also challenged the definition of “public or prohibited area” as per Section 2(17A) which states, 

"Public Place means any place to which public have access, whether as a matter of right or not and includes all places visited by general public and also includes any open space.”

The Supreme Court clarified on the same by stating that “It is true that public may not have access to the private vehicle as a matter of right, they definitely have the opportunity to approach the private vehicle while it is on a public road”