Three years after his car was towed although it wasn't in a no parking zone, car owner who represented himself, wins case against Mumbai Traffic Police
Three years after his car was towed although it wasn't in a no parking zone, car owner who represented himself, wins case against Mumbai Traffic Police
After almost three years and 30 time-consuming hearings at the Metropolitan Court, the battle against an alleged car towing charges has been won by Khar resident Anil Gidwani, a 45-year-old IIT Electrical Engineer, who claims to have spent over Rs 10,25,000 by way of legal costs and loss of earnings after his car was towed by the cops, from the road opposite Cooperage in Churchgate, in March 2007.
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| The Other Side |
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The authorities said
Nitin Dossa, Executive Chairman, Western India Automobile Associationu00a0
(WIAA), when contacted said that he had not seen the actual judgment, but what happened was unfortunate.
When contacted, Sanjay Barve, Joint Commissioner of Police, Traffic, stated that since he was not aware of Gidwani's case, he would not be able to comment on the issue. |
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Sunday MiD DAY has a copy of an order dated October 22, 2010 from the Chief Metropolitan Court, which stated that the traffic cops who towed Gidwani's vehicle had no record to show how far the car was parked from the 'No Parking Zone' signboard. "The prosecution utterly failed to establish that my car, which was at some distance from the board, was actually parked in the 'No Parking Zone'. The Constable, who actually towed my car, could not even establish the correct definition of a No Parking Zone," claimed Gidwani.
Gidwani alleged that during the trial, the constable confirmed having taken Rs 200 as per Motor Vehicle Rules, but could not quote the rule.u00a0 Subsequently his senior went on to contradict him by saying that there is no rule for towing charge as these rules are made by the Home Department, but could not cite the rule number or confirm if it wasu00a0 published in the Government Gazette.
"It would have been a simple parking violation, the total cost of which is Rs 300 had I paid the fine. I have avoided legal fees by representing myself in the matter but I had to procure books on traffic laws and spend time studying them," said Gidwani.
As reported byu00a0MiDDAY Last year, Anil Gidwani spent over a lakh fighting the case over what he claims was an incorrect fine of
rs 300 levied on him. dossa had said then that Gidwani should have approached the wiaa instead of the courtu00a0
