By Express News Service

HYDERABAD: In a rare series of judgments, six persons were on Wednesday sentenced to two days in prison for riding their two-wheelers on the wrong side of the road and obstructing traffic. The offenders were caught last week by the Bowenpally police’s law and order wing.

The 14th Special MM Court here also directed them to pay a fine of Rs 50 each, after finding them guilty of obstructing traffic under Section 21/76 of the Hyderabad City Police Act. These six persons were caught on different days of July — 17, 18, 19 and 22 — in different areas under the jurisdiction of the Bowenpally police, officials said.

Generally, the traffic police use Section 119 and 177 of the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act to penalise people for driving on the wrong side of the road. A challan of Rs 1,100 is then issued to each offender. The Hyderabad City Police Act, however, allows for people to be jailed for obstructing traffic.

In view of Wednesday’s judgments, Commissioner of Police Anjani Kumar pointed out that the court was taking such offences seriously.

In the first six months of 2019, over 1,05,346 individuals were issued challans for driving on the wrong side — a 115 per cent increase in the number of such offenders, compared to last year.

“We have identified where people are most likely to take a wrong route to dodge traffic. We will penalise offenders as such acts could cause accidents,” the North Zone DCP said.