Mangalore, June 10: The Supreme Court's ban order on the black sun film on car glasses has raised quite a few eyebrows in the country. Citizens of Mangalore, who have had their share of inconveniences ever since the order was passed, are planning to press for a review with the Apex Court.
“The Court should have given more time and considered public opinion. There are lakhs of cars in the country and it is something that concerns a large number of people”, says Mukesh of Car Décor unit of the city.
An association by name Car Owners and Consumers' Association (COCA) will be formed and the Supreme Court will be approached for a review on the ban. City based advocate P P Hegde will represent the Association, Mr. Mukesh told Coastaldigest.com.
“Almost 90% of the people go for sun films. It is an extra expenditure for them. If that many people are spending extra amount of money, it only means how necessary the sun films are. If the Court has only referred to the black sun films it is rather understandable. But at least some minimum level of tint must be allowed. The ban may be relevant in European countries because the heat that we experience in India is not comparable to those countries. Also, absence of sun films will have an effect on the fuel efficiency of vehicles. Owing to heat that we have in the coastal region, the pressure on the compressor is bigger, which reduces fuel efficiency. That is the reason why vehicles give better mileage at night. Sun films help in cooling A/C cars faster and reduce the pressure on the compressor thereby resulting in better fuel efficiency”, says Mr. Mukesh.
One of the concerns of people associated with the tint ban is security. “I am an amateur photographer and hence carry my camera worth Rs. 2 lakhs in my car. I leave my valuables such as camera lens, laptop etc in my car while I am on the move. It is inevitable at times to park the car at roadside and in the absence of sun films, my valuables in the car would be easily exposed. There is greater chance of theft now and it is a cause of concern for me”, says Shreevats of Derebail.
Some of the other reasons being cited by people in favour of the sun films include safety in case of any cracking of the glass due to stone pelting or accident as glass pieces tend to stick to the sun films reducing chances of human injury, blocking of harmful UV rays that could cause skin allergy, privacy for ladies to breast feed their children while on a journey, protection of interiors of the cars etc.
'Police behaving rudely'
Meanwhile, many citizens have groused that cops have been stopping vehicles at will, behaving rudely with people, asking them to remove the tints immediately.
“The cops stopped me and took off the sun films from my vehicle in a jiffy. I was concerned if they would damage the glass in the process. Nevertheless, how can they take off the tints when the rules have specified a certain level of visibility?” says Adil Ahmed of Pandeshwar.
As per the Rule 100 (2) of the Central Motor Vehicle Rules, 1989, the windscreen and rear windows should have a visual light transmission (VLT) of not less than 70%. For the side windows, minimum visibility should be 50%.
However, the police defend the move to remove the tints even if the tint visibility is 0%. “The Supreme Court has clearly said that no sun films must be present. The minimum visibility aspect that is being discussed concerns the glass itself and not the sun film. We measure the visibility of the glass using luxometer. If the glasses too do not fulfill the visibility needs, they too are required to be changed. However, when it comes to sun films, there is no question of visibility as the court has ordered its removal”, a traffic police official told Coastaldigest.com.
The Supreme Court has not only ordered implementation of the ban but also authorized the police to take off the sun films, the official said, adding that the department carried out removal operations till June 5 without imposing fines. But now, the fines will be imposed and there are still people who have not responded to the awareness drives. Offenders will be fined Rs. 100, the official said.
However, Coastaldigest.com found a couple of government vehicles operating with the tint on, even after the ban was implemented.
The tinted 'Legal Awareness Chariot' being run by the district administration in association with other departments
Government vehicle with tinted glasses being used by Yogish Bhat, Deputy Speaker, Karnataka Legislative Assembly
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