The Punjab and Haryana High Court has held that people professing Sikh religion would be exempted from wearing helmets while riding motorcycles only if they were wearing turbans.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Sheel Nagu and Justice Anil Kshetarpal made the observation after taking note of an amendment made to Section 129 of the Motor Vehicles Act in 2022.
The Bench said a bare perusal of the aforesaid provision revealed that except for a person belonging to Sikh religion, who was wearing a turban, no other person (male or female) while driving or riding on the motorcycle in a public place, was exempted from wearing a headgear conforming to the standards, as prescribed by the Central government.
The High Court asked the authorities in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh to file data on the number of challans issued against women driving or pillion-riding motorcycles without helmet.
The High Court had taken suo motu cognisance with regard to the safety of women on motorcycles, particularly the Sikh women not wearing turban, in 2017.
It had questioned the Punjab government in 2018 on why it had exempted all Sikh women from wearing helmets.
The State of Punjab and the Chandigarh Administration later amended the rules to make it compulsory for every woman to wear helmet while driving or riding pillion two wheelers, except a Sikh woman wearing a turban.
The High Court was apprised that the Union government had not agreed to the change.
In October 2018, the Union of India issued a clarification to the Chandigarh Administration, asking the UT authorities to exempt all Sikh women from wearing a helmet.
The Central government issued the clarification after various Sikh bodies, including the Shiromani Akali Dal, objected to the decision withdrawing exemption provided to the Sikh women.
The Central government was represented by Additional Solicitor General of India SP Jain with Senior Panel Counsel Gurmeet Kaur Gill.
Additional Public Prosecutor (APP) PS Paul appeared for UT Chandigarh, while Additional Advocate General Saurav Khurana appeared for the State of Punjab. The State of Haryana was represented by Additional Advocate General Deepak Balyan.
Senior Advocate PS Hundal, along with Advocates Mrigank Sharma and Gurparmeet Singh, appeared for the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee.
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