A car with tinted glass in Bhubaneswar. Picture by Ashwinee Pati

Bhubaneswar, May 30: Attention everyone, your shaded joyride has been cut short. The tinted glasses of your four-wheelers might not shield you from the harsh sun’s rays any more as the city police are gearing up to implement the recent Supreme Court ruling that calls for a ban on using dark films on car windows.

An awareness drive will commence within a week, said senior police officers. “We will distribute leaflets among vehicle owners, informing them of the apex court’s order and provisions of penalty for violators,” said a traffic cop, adding that they would also peel the dark film off the car windows and windscreens during this awareness drive.

The cops said the drive would continue for a few days, after which it would be down to cracking the whip on offenders. “The court ruling will be implemented in letter and spirit and those found violating it would have to cough up a minimum fine of Rs 500 under the Urban Police Act,” said a senior police officer.

The Supreme Court order passed by Chief Justice S.H. Kapadia and A.K. Pattnaik reads: “We prohibit the use of black films of any VLT (visual light transmission) percentage or any other material upon the safety glasses, windscreens (front and rear) and side glasses of all vehicles throughout the country”.

They had directed that the government and police must ensure compliance from May 4.

Officials at the Regional Transport Office (RTO), Bhubaneswar, said they had started implementing the order immediately after getting the copy of the court order. “We have instructed our officials to inspect the vehicles thoroughly. The ones used for transport purposes are not given fitness certificates if they are found violating the law, but we are yet to impose fines on the errant private vehicle-owners,” said regional transport officer Lalmohan Sethi.

According to provisions under the Central Motor Vehicle Act, 1989, transport officials can slap a fine of Rs 100 on violators. However, they lack proper equipment to check the VLT limit. “We have to carry out the inspection on the basis of visual assessment,” Sethi said.

Rule 100 of the Motor Act prescribes that the glass of windscreen and rear window of motor vehicles should have a visibility of at least 70 per cent and that of the side windows should have a minimum visibility of 50 per cent. However, the apex court ruled that the VLT of side glasses should be 40 per cent. “No films can be pasted on the glass later to increase the tint,” reads the order.

The use of black films on car windows has been a major cause of worry for the city police in the past.

“The ban on the use of tinted glasses will help in curbing many criminal activities and help in arresting the criminals,” a senior police officer said.