Calcutta, May 13: The high court today pulled up the city police for repeatedly violating its order by seizing blue books of vehicles, which was not permissible by the law.
Justice Pranab Kumar Chattopadhaya asked the officer-in-charge of the Park Street police station to state in an affidavit why he chose not to obey the order while taking away the blue book of the motorcycle owned by Kaushik Chatterjee, a high court lawyer.
“The police have no authority to claim the blue book of any vehicle. Only in cases where they are coming from other states, blue books can be seized by the police,” the court had said while disposing of a petition a few months ago.
It had also asked the traffic police chief to circulate copies of the order in police stations across the city.
When Dipankar Dutta ? the counsel appearing for Chatterjee ? today pointed out that even following the earlier order, the Park Street police seized the blue book, the judge hauled up the force.
The lawyer said it was “normal practice” for the police to claim the blue book first. “According to the Park Street police, my client’s vehicle was kept in a no-parking zone. When a policeman claimed the blue book, Chatterjee told him about the court order, but he forced him to hand over the blue book,” Dutta said. If a vehicle is parked in a wrong place, the police have the liberty to slap a case, but the owners only have the right to hold the blue book, he added.
The court directed the Park Street OC to return Chatterjee’s blue book without delay. “The OC is directed to return the blue book they (the policemen) had seized from the petitioner immediately,” the judge ordered.
Police sources said the earlier order on seizure of blue books had not been circulated properly. “Many of us do not have an idea of the fact that blue books cannot be seized from vehicle owners,” a sergeant of the city traffic police said today.
The sources also said the police department would discuss the order with government lawyers. “It is a serious matter. We have our grounds for seizing the blue books. Our lawyers will try to convince the court about that.”
The issue will come up again next week when the Park Street officer-in-charge submits his affidavit.
