

BLACK FILMS MATTER – PIL.

SUMMARY OF PETITION NO – 265 /2011.

THINGS TO NOTE !! A) ALTHOUGH BLACK FILMS CANNOT BY ITSELF COMMIT A CRIME BUT CAN EFFECTIVELY ASSIST IN MULTIPLE CRIMES RANGING FROM KIDNAPPING, MOLESTATION, RAPE, TRANSPORTATION OF ILLEGAL GOODS & WEAPONS, MOVEMENT OF CRIMINALS, IMMORAL ACTIVITIES, DRINKING LIQUOR IN VEHICLES – HENCE ENDANGERING THE LIVES OF THOSE INSIDE THE VEHICLE AS WELL AS OF THOSE WHO ARE OUTSIDE.



B) DCP. / JT.COMM. OF POLICE – ST.THOMAS MOUNT DISTRICT, CHENNAI / AIRPORT 2 NEW DELHI / MADHAVARAM DISTRICT / AMBATTUR DISTRICT / HAUZ KHAS, NEW DELHI / KOLKATA / IGI AIRPORT, NEW DELHI HAVE CLEARLY EXPRESSED THEIR VIEWS REGARDING TINTED GLASS BEING THREAT TO SECURITY / KIDNAPPING / SMUGGLING / ESCAPE OF CRIMINALS / ASCERTAIN THE IDENTITY OF PERSON / MOLESTATION / RAPE / MURDER / ABDUCTION / ROBBERY.



C) DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF POLICE – ST. THOMAS MOUNT, CHENNAI HAS CATEGORICALLY STATED THAT USE OF TINTED GLASS IN VEHICLES SHOULD BE BANNED.



D) COUNTRIES LIKE AFGHANISTAN / BELARUS / NIGERIA WHICH HAVE POLICE ALLOCATION AGAINST POPULATION SIMILAR TO INDIA, HAVE BANNED BLACK GLASSES IN VEHICLES.



E) RULE 100 OF CENTRAL MOTOR VEHICLES RULE 1989 PROVIDES THAT GLASSES OF WINDSCREENS & REAR WINDOWS OF VEHICLES SHOULD HAVE A VISUAL LIGHT TRANSMISSION OF 70% & FOR SIDE WINDOWS IT SHOULD BE 50%.



HOWEVER THERE IS NO MENTION OF TINTED GLASSES & IT SPEAKS ABOUT SAFETY GLASSES ONLY.



F) MONITORING OF COMPLIANCE TO THE 50%/70% CLAUSE BECOMES NON IMPLEMENTABLE DUE TO FOLLOWING FACTORS : -

1) LOWEST ALLOCATION OF POLICE TO POPULATION AS PER INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS.

2) HIGH RATE OF GROWTH OF VEHICLES.

3) NEGLIGIBLE AVAILABILITY OF THE DEVICE (LUXOMETER) TO CHECK VISIBILITY.



G) "LUXOMETER" A DEVICE USED FOR CHECKING VISIBILITY PERCENTAGE OF TINTED GLASSES, IS AVAILABLE VERY RARELY WITH THE POLICE.



H) DELHI POLICE DEPUTY COMMISSIONER (TRAFFIC-HQ) HAS ISSUED A DIRECTIVE DATED 25-05-2010, TO ALL DCSP/ACSP/TRAFFIC AND TIS NOT TO ISSUE CHALLANS FOR BLACK FILMS UNTIL LUXOMETER IS AVAILABLE TO CHECK THE VISIBILITY AND THE SAME AS WE MENTIONED IN THE REPLY BY (MR. PRABHAKAR) PIO DEPUTY COMMISSIONER OF POLICE (TRAFFIC HQ. DELHI).



I) DCP. JB TITO MARG / WESTERN RANGE – RAJOURI GARDEN / BANGLA SAHIB LANE, HAVE CONFIRMED THAT DUE TO SHORTAGE OF LUXOMETERS CHECKING IS BEING DONE MANUALLY.



J) DCP. JB TITO MARG CONFIRMS THAT THERE IS NO PROCEDURE / RECORD TO CHECK HABITUAL OFFENDERS OF BLACK FILMS RULES.



K) VLT. MEANS VISUAL LIGHT TRANSMISSION.



L) IT IS PERTINENT TO MENTION THAT THE WORD "TINTED" MEANS SHADE OR HUE AS PER THE DICTIONARY MEANING. THE REAR, FRONT AND SIDE WINDOW GLASSES OF VEHICLES ARE PROVIDED WITH SUCH SHADOW OR TINT THEREFORE THEY ARE REFERRED WIDELY AS "TINTED GLASSES", HOWEVER; IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE TO TERM IT AS "BLACK FILM". THE VEHICLES HAVE BLACK SHADOW ON THEIR GLASSES OWING TO THE FACT THAT THOSE GLASSES RECEIVE COATING OF BLACK FILM. THUS, A TINTED GLASS CANNOT BE PRODUCED BY THE MANUFACTURERS; RATHER THEY RECEIVE COATING OF BLACK FILM AFTER THE VEHICLES ROLL OUT OF PRODUCTION UNITS.



M) THE PERCENTAGE OF VISIBILITY OF TINTED GLASS CANNOT BE JUDGED BY A NAKED EYE.



N) INDIA IS CALLED "THE DUST CAPITAL OF THE WORLD" AND BLACK FILMS ALONG WITH DUST SEVERELY REDUCE VISIBILITY.



O) DURING WINTERS VISIBILITY IS REDUCED AND TINTED GLASSES ADD TO IT.



P) BLACK GLASS RESULTS IN LOWER VISIBILITY DURING NIGHTS RESULTING IN MORE ACCIDENTS.



Q) THE FACTOR OF LIMITED VISIBILITY (50% & 70%) IS CONTRIBUTIVE OF PARTIAL TO FULL OPAQUENESS – ESPECIALLY DURING ADVERSE WEATHER CONDITIONS.



R) TERRORISM IS PREVALENT ALL OVER THE NATION, ONLY THE MAGNITUDE DIFFERS ACROSS REGIONS.



S) VIPS. CAN THEMSELVES BE HELD AT RANSOM UNDER THE COVER OF TINTED GLASSES.



T) VIP. VEHICLES ARE EASILY IDENTIFIED BY RED LIGHT AND NUMBER PLATES AND HENCE BLACK GLASSES PROVIDE NEGLIGIBLE PROTECTION.



U) THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES AND GOVT. SERVANTS INDULGING IN CRIMINAL ACTIVITY AND EXTENSION OF BLACK FILMS TO THEIR VEHICLES WILL AID THEM IN COMMITTING THE CRIMES.



V) IN THE CURRENT PETITION WE ARE PRAYING FOR 100% VISUAL LIGHT TRANSMISSION.



W) CRIMINALS WILL BE EASILY IDENTIFIED IF THE VEHICLES HAVE 100% VLT.



X) THE SECURITY OF THE COUNTRY ALONG WITH THE RIGHT TO LIFE OF THE CITIZENS MUST BE GUARANTEED.



Y) MULTIPLE INSTANCES OF RAPE & MOLESTATION HAVE BEEN REPORTED IN CARS WITH TINTED GLASSES AND MORE SPECIFICALLY IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL TOO, WHICH HAS THE BEST POLICE ALLOCATION AS A PERCENTAGE OF POPULATION IN THE NATION. EVEN IN THE WEEK STARTING 04/07/2011 AN

INSTANCE OF RAPE INSIDE A VEHICLE, WAS REPORTED IN THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.



Z) THE RESPONDENTS ARE MINISTRY OF HOME AFFAIRS & MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT.



Z1) THE RTI. QUERIES WHICH WERE RAISED ARE CLEARLY MENTIONED IN THE PAGES "60" & "61".



Z2) WRITTEN SUBMISSION WITH INPUTS SIMILAR TO THE PETITION, WERE MADE BOTH TO THE HOME MINISTRY & PRIME MINISTERS OFFICE IN JUNE 2010.

HOWEVER NO REPLY WAS RECEIVED.



Z3) ALONG WITH VEHICLES ROADS TOO HAVE INCREASED IN VERY HIGH PERCENTAGE.



Z4) SOME CAR OWNERS COMPLAIN THAT TINTED GLASS CONTRIBUTE TO THE COOLING OF VEHICLES - BUT FIRSTLY ONLY THOSE WHO USE AIR CONDITIONING DO PULL UP THE GLASSES & AIR CONDITIONING PROVIDES COOLING ANY WAYS & FURTHER IF COOLING WAS AN ISSUE, THEN ONLY SILVER & WHITE CARS WOULD HAVE SOLD, SINCE THEY ABSORB THE LEAST HEAT AND ALSO INCREASE NIGHT VISIBILITY OF VEHICLE, HENCE MAKING THEM LEAST PRONE TO ACCIDENTS !! ** THE INDIAN POLICE JOURNAL, PUBLISHED BY THE BUREAU OF POLICE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT STATES THAT - CRIME STATISTICS ARE LOWER THAN INCIDENCE BECAUSE POLICEMEN ARE RELUCTANT TO REGISTER F.I.R. THE STUDY WAS CONDUCTED IN NORTH BENGAL BY THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE AND REFLECTED THAT THE NUMBER OF RECORDED CASES OF CRIME WENT UP BY MORE THAN (400%) AFTER REGISTRATION OF F.I.R.S WAS MADE MANDATORY. HENCE IT CAN BE VERY WELL BE CONCLUDED THAT THE ACTUAL NOS. OF CRIMINAL CASES, ARE BY FAR MORE THAN THOSE REPORTED. ** AS PER REPLY AGAINST AN RTI. QUERY BY THE PETITIONER, FROM DR. DHANI RAM APIO. BUREAU OF POLICE RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT NEW DELHI, REFLECTING THE ACTUAL NO. OF POLICE PERSONNEL AGAINST THE SANCTIONED NO. PER LAC OF POPULATION IN INDIAN STATES AS ON (01/01/2009) AND ALSO SHOWING THE COMPARISON OF POLICE AVAILABILITY PER LAC OF POPULATION FOR THE YEARS (2001 & 2002) BETWEEN DIFFERENT COUNTRIES OF THE GLOBE – IT IS CLEARLY VISIBLE THAT OUR NATION LAGS FAR BEHIND AMONG MANY NATIONS OF THE GLOBE IN TERMS OF ENSURING HIGHER NUMBER OF POLICE PERSONNEL AGAINST EVERY LAC OF POPULATION. DUE TO THIS INSUFFICIENT NO. THE POLICE IS IN ALL PROBABILITIES UNABLE TO PROVIDE THE REQUIRED SECURITY COVER WHICH OUGHT TO BE EXTENDED TO THE CITIZENS OF THE NATION FOR ENSURING PROPER AND ADEQUATE SAFETY AND PEACE. COUPLED WITH THE COMPARATIVE SHORTAGE OF POLICE PERSONNEL WHEN MATCHED WITH MOST OTHER NATIONS OF THE GLOBE, WHAT HAS FURTHER AGGRAVATED THE SITUATION IS THAT – EVEN THERE IS A REMARKABLE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE ACTUAL AND THE SANCTIONED NUMBER OF POLICE PERSONNEL IN THE NATION. ADDITIONALLY IT IS NOT A HIDDEN FACT THAT OUR POLICE FORCE IS ILL EQUIPPED AND COMPARES POORLY WITH THE DEVELOPED NATIONS – (BOTH IN TERMS OF TECHNOLOGY & WEAPONRY) WHO ARE BENCHMARKS IN TERMS OF INTERNAL SECURITY. THIS DOUBLE PUNCH OF LACK OF ADEQUATE MANPOWER COUPLED WITH LACK OF LATEST TECHNOLOGY – PRESENTS A STRONG CASE FOR EFFECTIVE DETERRENTS. AGAINST A SANCTIONED STRENGTH OF (173.5) POLICE PERSONNEL FOR EVERY (01) LAC OF CITIZENS, THE ACTUAL STRENGTH IS ONLY (131.4). WHEREAS THERE ARE (03) COPS TO PROTECT EACH V.I.P. THERE IS ONLY (01) POLICEMAN FOR (761) CITIZENS. ITALY HAS (559), MEXICO HAS (491.8), JAPAN HAS (303), GERMANY (298) & NEPAL IN (2002) HAD (192.7) – POLICE PERSONNEL FOR EVERY (01) LAC OF POPULATION. ACCOUNTING FOR THE SHORTAGE OF POLICE PERSONNEL WE NEED TO INCORPORATE FIRST LEVEL DETERRENTS (WHERE EVER POSSIBLE) TO REDUCE INSTANSES OF CRIMES AGAINST HELPLESS CITIZENS. INDIA'S RANK HAS FALLEN SEVEN POINTS ON THE GLOBAL PEACE INDEX (GPI) (2011), WHICH RANKS COUNTRIES ACCORDING TO HOW PEACEFUL THEY ARE. INDIA NOW RANKS (135) OUT OF (153) COUNTRIES. WE ARE NOW AMONGST THE (20) LEAST PEACEFUL NATIONS IN THE WORLD, ALONG WITH COUNTRIES SUCH AS PAKISTAN AND AFGHANISTAN.

AT RANK (80), CHINA FARES A LOT BETTER THAN INDIA. WHILE SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA REMAINS ONE OF THE MOST VIOLENT REGIONS IN THE WORLD ACCORDING TO THE GPI, MOST COUNTRIES IN AFRICA AND NEARLY ALL COUNTRIES IN LATIN AMERICA AND EASTERN EUROPE RANK ABOVE INDIA.

"INDIA'S SCORE REMAINS THE SAME ON MOST PARAMETERS USED TO MEASURE PEACEFULNESS. HOMICIDE AND CRIME RATES IN INDIA, TOO, ARE A LOT LOWER THAN MANY OTHER COUNTRIES. THE FALL IN RANKINGS IS LARGELY DUE TO AN INCREASING PERCEPTION OF CRIMINALITY IN SOCIETY," SAYS STEVE KILLELEA, FOUNDER OF THE GLOBAL PEACE INDEX.

PAKISTAN FARES WORSE THAN INDIA WITH A RANK OF (146) ON THE GPI, THANKS LARGELY TO THE EASY ACCESS TO SMALL WEAPONS IN THE COUNTRY COUPLED WITH HIGH LEVELS OF INTERNAL CONFLICT AND TERRORISM. DESPITE CHINA'S POOR HUMAN RIGHTS TRACK RECORD, KILLELEA SAYS THAT CHINA'S RELATIVELY BETTER PERFORMANCE HAS MUCH TO DO WITH LOW LEVELS OF HOMICIDE AND VIOLENT CRIME IN THE COUNTRY, AS WELL AS A MUCH LOWER POTENTIAL FOR TERRORIST ATTACKS.

ACCORDING TO ESTIMATES BY ECONOMISTS WORKING ON THE GPI, VIOLENCE COST THE GLOBAL ECONOMY OVER ($8) TRILLION IN (2010). "IF THE WORLD HAD BEEN (25%) MORE PEACEFUL OVER THE PAST YEAR THE GLOBAL ECONOMY WOULD HAVE REAPED AN ADDITIONAL ECONOMIC BENEFIT OF JUST OVER US ($2) TRILLION.

"THE LESSON FOR INDIA IS THAT, WHILE IT MAY HAVE A VIBRANT ECONOMY, IT COULD DO SO MUCH BETTER IF IT DID AWAY WITH VIOLENCE," HE SAID.





