Discrepancy in data on road accidents by minors provided by Union govt in Rajya Sabha: Report
New Delhi: A discrepancy has emerged between the road accident data provided by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and the figures reported by the Tamil Nadu state government regarding accidents caused by minors.
The data presented by Union Minister Nitin Gadkari in a written response in the Rajya Sabha on March 19 claimed that Tamil Nadu, based on the Integrated Road Accident Database (iRAD) system, recorded the highest number of road accidents involving minors from 2023 to 2024, with 2,063 cases, as reported by The Hindu.
However, the Tamil Nadu police, upon verifying the figures from the iRAD system, found that only 473 accidents caused by minors were recorded in Tamil Nadu during the same period. These included 204 accidents in 2023 and 269 in 2024.
A senior official from the Traffic and Road Safety wing of the State Director General of Police questioned the accuracy of the Union government's data, remarking, "Where is 200 and where is 2,000? Clearly, there is an error here."
State data showed that the total number of challans issued to guardians and parents of juveniles stood at 41 in 2023 and 80 in 2024. However, Bihar topped the country in this regard, issuing 1,316 challans and collecting a revenue of Rs 44.27 lakh.
The iRAD system receives data through the State Crime Record Bureau (SCRB), which is part of the Tamil Nadu Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS), The Hindu report stated while quoting the official.
Furthermore, the official noted a 17% decrease in fatal road accidents in Tamil Nadu during the first two months of 2025. The state recorded 2,576 fatal accidents resulting in 2,678 deaths in January and February 2025, a drop from the 3,110 fatal accidents and 3,253 deaths in the same period in 2024, the report added.
A senior official from the Transport and Road Safety Commissionerate also highlighted that Tamil Nadu was the only state in India with a policy to suspend driving licenses for not wearing wear helmets and seat belts. This policy is in addition to the six traffic violations listed by the Supreme Court Committee on Road Safety that could lead to a driving license suspension: over speeding, overloading, drunk driving, mobile phone usage while driving, jumping red lights, and overloading passengers in goods carriages.
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'Sorry state of affairs': SC slams Delhi govt over delay in premature release of prisoners
New Delhi, Apr 21 (PTI): Calling it as sorry state of affairs, the Supreme Court on Monday rapped the Delhi government over the delay in the premature release of prisoners.
A bench of Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan also censured the sentence review board (SRB) for rejecting prayers of premature release.
"Sorry state of affairs prevails in the manner in which the Delhi government is dealing with the issue of premature release of prisoners. There is much to be said about it," the bench said.
The top court observed despite the assurance of the Delhi government nothing was done and called for a deeper probe of the manner in which the issue of premature release was being handled.
The top court had previously slammed the Delhi government over the delay in deciding remission plea filed by 114 convicts, including a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist who was convicted for conspiring to wage war against the country and was awarded life imprisonment.
The top court had castigated states for mechanically rejecting remission plea of life convicts who have served more than 14 years in jail.
