Driving License for People with Monocular Vision: Fresh cases of Discrimination and Harassment by the Transport Departments

Hi guys,

It has been long since I posted a new article here.

But now is the time to give you updates on what has been going on in the background.

Today I bring you the case of two people who are fighting to get a driving license the legal way.

As I have reported before, I am also a person with a monocular vision. And I have fought the legal way to get a driving license from the motor vehicle department at Delhi. My case was a unique one and I thought to share the processes of my journey to get a DL as I went through them. When I shared my fight with the motor vehicle department at Delhi, I was thinking my case should be enlightenment for others facing the same situation as that of mine. As I have reported before, I fought my case and I also won it and got the driving license in 2010.

Why is the precedence not holding true in other offices!

But alas, despite the precedence of mine getting the driving license through the legal methods, I see that people are still facing the case of denial. Even though I have shared a scan copy of the RTI reply from the Delhi Transport Department stating that people with monocular vision are eligible to get a driving license if they furnish a medical certificate in the prescribed format, I see that several offices in Delhi are still denying a Driving License to people despite that they provide all the necessary documents and certificates.

The fresh case is that of Shekh Sarai office of the Transport Department, New Delhi where two of my friends, Kapil Kaushal and Shivraj had gone to get a Driving license along with all the necessary documents, including the medical certificate provided by the Safdarjung Hospital. To our surprise, they denied them a learner’s license. These officials were also shown the RTI reply I had got from the Head Office of the transport department, but they still refused and the MLO (Motor Licensing Officer) told them to "better approach Vasant Vihar RTO as the RTI belongs to them”. As if they were not covered by the Indian constitution and the acts.

From my case as reported elsewhere on this website, it is clear that to get a LMV driving license, vision in both eyes is not necessary. This is also in accordance with law of India and several other countries as I had quoted in my RTI appeal made to the appellate authority of the Delhi Transport Office which the office had also acknowledged to be true.

The Fresh cases of DL Denials

As I have reported above, Kapil Kaushal and Shivraj Kumar, both of Delhi, are undergoing the same process of RTIs after having been denied verbally for a DL. They have filed the first RTI seeking the reasons behind such denials.

Questions Raised in the First RTI

The questions raised in the RTI filed by Shivraj are as follows:

Question No.1: Can a person with no vision in one eye and normal vision in the other eye get a driver’s license issued under the concerned Acts of the Government of Delhi?

Question No. 2: If the answer to the question no. 1 above is ‘No’, then could you please provide me the applicable Acts and rules under the pretext of which the driver’s license is denied to such a person?

Question No. 3: If answer to the question no. 1 above is in ‘Yes’, I would also seek the information regarding the procedure and other documents that are needed to be furnished by the applicant to get a driver’s license.

Answers to the First RTI Questions

And the replies to all the three questions given by the replying authority at Shekh Sarai, New Delhi are respectively as follows (A copy this reply is scanned and uploaded here):

1.No

2.Form No. 1 (Application cum Declaration as to Physical Fitness) See Rule 5(2) is mandatory to issue a Learning License and part (b) of declaration is self-explanatory.

3.Refer to Para-I

The Blunder Committed by the Transport Office Officer

As you can see from the reply, it only shows the foolishness of the authority replying to the RTI. The authority at the Shekh Sarai office has stated it categorically that such persons are not allowed a DL. And the reason he gives for this is just a citation, as I quote below:

“Form No. 1 (Application cum Declaration as to Physical Fitness) See Rule 5(2) is mandatory to issue a Learning License and part (b) of declaration is self-explanatory.”

If you have not seen “Form No. 1 (Application cum Declaration as to Physical Fitness)”, here is a link where you can see this form as sent as an attachment along with the RTI reply.

If you read the Form 1 in totality, you will find that part (b) reads as follows:

“Are you able to distinguish with each eye (or if you have held a driving license to drive a motor vehicle for a period of not less than five years and if you have lost, the sight of one eye after the said period of five years and if the application is for driving a light motor vehicle other than a transport vehicle fitted with an outside mirror on the steering wheel-side) or with one eye at distance of 25 meters in good day light (with glasses, if worn) a motor car number plate?”

As you can see from the text of the 5(b) clause of the Form 1 above, it is clear that the text in parenthesis is not a mandatory as it all comes with ‘or’. If you remove the text in parenthesis, which is the best reading of the rule (and I say this with the confidence of a linguist), the text reads as follows:

“Are you able to distinguish with each eye or with one eye at distance of 25 meters in good day light (with glasses, if worn) a motor car number plate?”

So, it is all about the vision in 25 metres. This rule simply enquires whether the person can see with both OR one eye at a distance of 25 metres and be able to read the number plate. Of course, all the people with monocular vision and the other eye as normal can do that perfectly well.

Thus, the officer who replied to the question of Shivraj RTI, has interpreted this rule in a gravely blunderous manner. And mark my word on this, we are going to punish him for that. And this it must be in a big way.

These officers cannot thrust their ignorance on common people and make them do the extra miles they are made to get what is their right.

Friends, we are going to raise this issue at the national level. We are in talks with some of the news channels and newspapers. They are planning to do a story on people like us facing the issue of not getting a license. I am now at Ahmedabad while Shivraj and Kapil are in Delhi. They are coordinating this show with the news men. I request you all to connect with us and make this show heard at the national level so that more people like us can get together and make a concentrated effort on spreading the awareness among the driving license officers and teach them that we are just normal people like everybody else and we will no longer tolerate this kind of harassment any more.

Watch out this space more bytes on the next move we make on this issue. And also read other stories posted here.