pil for cars catching fire

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHICIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. 11267 OF 2015In the matter of :DR. SANJAY KULSHRESTHRA …Petitioners

VERSUSUNION OF INDIA & ANR. …Respondents

MEMO OF PARTIES In the matter of: - Dr. Sanjay Kulshresthra Senior Consultant Pediatric Surgeon,1/171, Delhi Gate, Gulab Rai Marg, AGRA -2 , U.P [[email protected]] …Petitioner

VERSUS 1. Union of India Through Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Through Secretary Transport Bhawan, 1, Sansad Marg New Delhi-110001 …Respondent No.1

2. Union of India Through Ministry of Heavy Industry Through Secretary, Udyog Bhawan,

New Delhi 110011 …Respondent No.2

Drawn and filed by :-

PLACE : NEW DELHIDATED : /09 /2015

ARCHANA PATHAK DAVEANKITA CHAUDHARY

ADVOCATES FOR THE PETITIONERS 404, NEW LAWYER’S CHAMBER,

SUPREME COURT OF INDIA, NEW DELHI – 110001

PHONE : 9971222581

[email protected]

SYNOPSIS

The main objective of filing this Writ Petition is to seek

a direction from this Hon’ble Court to the respondents

to conduct an enquiry through a competent authority

for very high incidents of spontaneous burning of cars

[i.e. cars catching fire without any obvious reason] in

India to know the cause and make suggestions for

controlling such incidents in future and also to fix

responsibility of companies, dealers & government

authorities that regulate or check fitness of vehicles.

The petitioner is a Senior Consultant Pediatric Surgeon

and also studying road traffic hazards for last 7-8 years

and concerned with very high incidents of cars catching

sudden fires. In most of such situations doors get

permanently locked, not giving any chance to

occupants to escape, but to be charred alive within

minutes in front of helpless spectators. Since petitioner

did not get any satisfactory answer or explanation from

Ministry of Surface Transport and Society of Indian

Automobile [an official body] about whether any official

enquiry or forensic study for such incidents had been

done or pending, hence this writ petition is being filed.

Though we do not have a proper record of such

incidents at a country level, however, as per Delhi

police, at least 35-40 such fire incidents are occurring

every year in Delhi alone. So we can easily assume

that it must be a huge number at country level. It is

interesting to note that these fire incidents have been

seen in almost all categories of cars, like Cars of all

sizes or segments [small, mid & big] including luxury

cars & SUVs, Cars of all companies, cars running on

both petrol/diesel and gas, not only in old ones but in

new cars also.

It is very unfortunate that despite being such a

serious, fatal and unexplained kind of fire accidents,

no proper enquiry/forensic study has been done by

authorities like ministry of surface transport, ministry

of heavy industries, car manufacturing companies or

their regulatory body, etc. It is in the absence of any

regulatory and preventive measures taken by the

government agencies, the petitioner has been left with

no alternative but to file the present writ petition

under Article 226 r/w Article 21 of the Constitution of

India to direct the official respondents to conduct an

enquiry into the incidents of cars catching fire and

fixing the responsibilities on the automobile

industry/companies to ensure that such incidences do

not occur in future.

As far as response of car manufacturing

companies is concerned, they are very reluctant on

this issue and up till now they have not come with

any satisfactory explanations for that. Though auto

companies are in constant denial mode, however, it is

interesting to note that in recent 2-3 years there are

many major instances of recall of cars by almost all

companies for almost all categories of cars. If there

are no malfunctions or manufacturing defects that

are responsible for such sudden burning of cars, then

why these companies are forced to recall these cars.

Petitioner would also bring in to notice of Hon’ble

court about the fact that besides catching fire due to

automobile malfunctions, there are several others

manufacturing defects that could be directly

responsible for deaths of drivers or other commuters

on roads like steering failure, brakes failure, etc.

Since fire accidents of cars is such a distinct

phenomenon that is easily noticeable, while other

accidents due to several other manufacturing defects

are not so easily detected as there is no proper

forensic study in our country for road accidents. That

is why these companies easily pass on the blame to

drivers.

It is interesting to see that car makers are supposed

to work on principle of ‘self regulation’ as they are

free to make voluntary guidelines and it is left on

companies to come out to declare generic defects.

This is in contrast to regime prevalent in countries

such as United States, Japan and South Korea, which

have strict regulations on recalls and specialized

bodies looking into them.

There are ample proofs that car companies are

getting their cars approved by testing agencies even

when their vehicles are not fulfilling the

requirements. A probe by government appointed

panel under CEO of National Automotive Testing and

R&D Infrastructure Project (NATRiP) to investigate

General Motors India’s recall of over 1.26 lakh

Chevrolet Tavera vehicles has held company

responsible for committing corporate fraud. On 8th

February, 2014, a British Agency [NCAP] reported

that all cars having engine capacity below 1200 CC in

India are unfit for safety point of view and these cars

are not subjected to ‘crash safety tests’ and

interesting point is that these companies passes the

blame to government saying in India it is not

mandatory for such cars to pass crash safety tests!

Petitioner is studying road traffic hazards for last

7-8 years and has written book and many articles on

road safety. On the basis of that knowledge he would

like to share some queries with Hon’ble Court that are

still unanswered and need an explanation. These

queries are [1] Why automatic doors are permanently

locked in such accidents? It is not the fire only but

MORE IMPORTANTLY it is the malfunction of

automatic doors that is bigger culprit behind tragic

deaths. [2]Needs explanation for cause of fire like

whether it is a short circuiting, leakage of fuel, or

there is some other reason. These days more and

more new features are added in cars to provide

comfort, requiring more electric wiring causing more

chances of short circuiting. We don’t know whether

these electric circuits are ordered from reliable

companies or not and secondly, whether these

devices have been tested in hot Indian climate or

not? [3] Although gas-based vehicles have been

found to be equally safe as that of petrol or diesel

one, however, it is a matter of investigation whether

this is true in cases of accidents also? Are the gas-

based vehicles more prone to catch fire at the time of

an accident? [4]Are these fire accidents equally

common in developed countries? [5] Why these

incidents that were rare earlier, a decade ago, have

become very common these days in new generation

cars?

At present whatever investigations have been

done, that all have been done by Police Department.

In almost all cases police investigations remain

inconclusive. Police department says that they don’t

have the necessary infrastructure, equipment and

human expertise for investigation. Therefore proper

investigation is extremely necessary. Since a self

regulatory policy as adopted by automobile

companies is not adequate enough, so some

guideline to fix responsibility is a dire need of hour.

Investigation should also determine about any

evidence of gross or criminal negligence on the part

of dealers / manufacturers.

Considering facts like: a). very high incidence of

unexplained fire accidents in India, b). large number

of recalls of cars every year [in thousands and lakhs]

& c).since some malfunctions like related to short

circuiting, permanent door locking, steering, brakes

failure are directly relate to safety, there should be

provision of filing a criminal case against

companies/dealers. Petitioner being a

doctor[surgeon] feels while treating a patient, if a

doctor can be booked for a criminal negligence for

some faulty treatment or gross negligence that is

responsible for death / sufferings of patient, than why

can’t these auto companies be booked under such

sections under Section like 304A (causing death due

to negligence) of IPC.

Therefore, petitioner makes a humble prayer to

take necessary action so that such tragic accidents in

future can be minimized and this would also be the

real tribute to our beloved ones who had been the

victim of these fire accidents of vehicles.

LIST OF DATES AND EVENTS.

02/07/2012 Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers

(SIAM) voluntary code on recall will not

impose any penalties on auto companies.

(Annexure P/1)

30/06/2013 Honda to recall 42,672 City units to replace

their power window switch in the TIMES OF

INDIA. (Annexure P/2)

12/10/2013 Government appointed panel exposing

Corporate fraud by GM India in the Times of

India. (Annexure P/3)

14/09/2013 Ford effects India’ s biggest recall with

1.66L Figo, Classic to rectify problems

related to steering and rear suspension.

(Annexure P/4).

28/112013 Maruti recalls 1,500 units for steering

defect. (Annexure P/5)

09/01/2104 In Delhi a car catches fire causing a man

critical and co passenger Hurt; Short

Circuit May Have Led To Mishap. (Annexure

P/6)

11/01/2014 Burnt to death after car catches fire in

Delhi in Times of India. (Annexure P/7)

11/02/2014 Indian car manufacturing companies are

under cloud on the Safety issue in Dainik

Jagran. (Annexure P/8)

09/04/2014 Fuel tank fault. Maruti have recalled over 1

lakh Dzire units to replace a faulty fuel

pump part in Times of India. (Annexure P/9)

10/04/2014 Copy of Toyota to recall 45,000 Innovas

for faulty airbags inTIMES OF INDIA.

(Annexure P/10)

05/05/2014 Information under RTI. Showed that

Ministry of Road Transport has not

conducted any enquiry or investigation

into any car fire accident. (Annexure P/11)

06/05/2014 Honda recalls 30,000 Brio, Amaze units for

a possible defect in the brake system in the

TIMES OF INDIA. (Annexure P/12).

09/05/2014 Delhi businessman charred to death as car

bursts into flames in the Times of India.

(Annexure P/13).

13/05/2014 Youth had a narrow escape when his

parked Audi catches fire, car next to it

gutted in the TIMES OF INDIA (Annexure

P/14)

14/05/2014 Burning question, no answers! Car fires

cost lives but there is no Accountability in

the Times of India. (Annexure P/15)

05/06/2014 Two teens charred to death as car catches

fire in the The Times of India. (Annexure

P/16)

06/06/2014 Lax investigations fail to nail guilty in The

Times of India. (Annexure P/17)

01/10/2014 WIRING FAULT - Maruti recalls 70k unit

Swift, Dzire & Ritz in The Times of India

(Delhi). (Annexure P/18)

26/10/2014 Nissan to recall 9,000 units of Micra,

Sunny in The Times of India (Delhi).

(Annexure P/19)

28/10/2014 Honda recalls 2.3k models of Brio, Amaze

& CR-V in The Times of India (Delhi).

(Annexure P/20)

04/11/2014 New Swift, Datsun Go flunk crash test in

the The Times of India. (Annexure P/21)

02/10/2014 Maruti calls back 3,796 Ciaz to fix clutch

system in The Times of India (Delhi).

(Annexure P/22)

17/10/2014 Ford to recall 21,000 Eco Sports in The

Times of India. (Annexure P/23)

09/02/2015 32-yr-old charred in car in NW Delhi

Central Locking System Got Jammed in

The Times of India (Delhi). (Annexure

P/24)

29/06/2015 Close shave for couple as car catches fire

in Car Delhi in the The Times of India.

(Annexure P/25)

17.08.2015 Copy of Supreme court’s order in Writ

Petition Civil No. 332/2015. The writ

petition was disposed of as withdrawn with

liberty to the petitioner to approach the

High Court for appropriate relief(s).

(Annexure P/26)

.09.2015 Hence, the Petitioners are approaching this

Hon’ble Court by way of the present writ

petition.


PLACE : NEW DELHI ARCHANA PATHAK DAVEDATED : / /2015 ANKITA CHAUDHARY



PHONE : 9971222581 [email protected]

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHICIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. OF 2015

In The Matter Of A Public Interest Litigation

Dr. Sanjay Kulshresthra Senior Consultant Pediatric Surgeon,1/171, Delhi Gate, Gulab Rai Marg, AGRA -2 , U.P …Petitioner

VERSUS 1. Union of India Through Ministry of Road Transport and Highways Through Secretary Transport Bhawan, 1, Sansad Marg New Delhi-110001 …Respondent No.1

2. Union of India Through Ministry of Heavy Industry Through Secretary, Udyog Bhawan,

New Delhi 110011 …Respondent No.2

WRIT PETITION UNDER ARTICLE 226 R/W

ARTICLES 21, 15 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF

INDIA

TOTHE HON’BLE CHIEF JUSTICE OF HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI AND HIS OTHER COMPANION JUDGES OF THE HON’BLE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI.

THE HUMBLE PETITION OF THE PETITIONER ABOVE NAMED.

MOST RESPECTFULLY SHOWETH:

1. That the writ petitioner has no personal interest in the

litigation and that the petition is not guided by self-

gain or for gain of any other person/institution/body

and that there is no motive other than of public

interest in filing the present writ petition. That this is

the petition under Article 226 r/w Article 21 of the

Constitution of India praying for the issuance of an

appropriate writ, order or direction of this Hon'ble

Court in the nature of a writ of mandamus

commanding the respondents to initiate a proper

enquiry into the incidents of car fire and suggest

ways / measures / solutions to avoid happening of

such incidences in the future in the circumstances set

for below.

2. That the source of knowledge of the facts alleged in

the writ petition is newspaper cuttings/general

information by various news agencies, which the

petitioner has collected over the years.

3. That the filing of instant writ petition will give the

benefits to the following persons:-

A. To the general public travelling in cars.

B. To the drivers of the cars in particular, as they

are fixed with negligence when the incidences of

cars catching fire take place, even when they are

not at fault.

C. To all the owners of the cars/four wheelers of all

segments who suffer because of no fault of theirs

when such incidences of cars catching fire occurs

and since the matter is in the larger public

interest it would not have been feasible for the

individuals to come separately before the court

for relief against the car manufacturing

companies.

4. That by filing of instant writ petition such incidences of

cars catching fire suddenly can be stopped. That the

persons likely to be affected by the order of this

Hon’ble court would also be Indian and Multinational

automobile manufacturing companies involved in

manufacturing luxury / non-luxury/Sedan/SUV’s/

ordinary four wheelers. That the Union of India

through Ministry of Road transport and highways,

Ministry of Heavy Industry should be impleaded as

respondents.

5. That the petitioner is a Senior Consultant Pediatric

Surgeon, who is MBBS, MS, MCh, FICMCH and the

petitioner has the means to pay the costs, if any,

imposed by the court and the petitioner is ready to

give on an undertaking to the court in that respect if

required.

6. That Before coming to Hon’ble court, petitioner made

following efforts for this cause: [a] On 27th August,

2010 petitioner raised this issue in one of

the road safety meeting held in Road

Transport & Highways ministry with Jt

Secretary [Mr S K Dash] [b] On 18th January,

2014, he also shared his concerned with SIAM[Society

of Indian Automobile Manufacturers], an official body

to control and make guidelines; however, petitioner

did not get any reply. [c] On the same issue he also

attracted the kind attention of hon’ble committee on

road safety constituted by Supreme Court of India

under Hon’ble Justice K S Radhakrishnan on

November 14, 2014 at Vigyan Bhavan where he was

allowed to make suggestions through power point

presentation on road accidents in India [d] He has

also appeared before parliamentary committee on

road safety bill 2010 and raised important issues on

road safety in India including the car fires, both orally

and in writing.

[6A] Before coming to Court, petitioner tried to know

under RTI from Ministry of Surface Transport whether

a proper enquiry has been conducted or pending for

such fire incidents or not. As per reply by Ministry of

Surface Transport Though letter dated 5th May, 2014,

no such enquiry or investigation into any fire

accidents has been conducted so far [ANNEXURE-P/11,

page.

7. That the petitioner had filed a similar writ Petitioner

before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India for the

similar relief sought herein. The Hon'ble Supreme

Court directed the petitioner to withdraw the same

and approach the Hon'ble High Court for appropriate

reliefs. That being so, the petitioner is before this

Hon'ble High Court by way of filing the present Public

Interest Litigation. The petitioner has not filed any

similar writ petition before this Hon'ble High Court

seeking the similar reliefs.

8. The details of the Public Interest Litigations filed by

the petitioner before the hon’ble courts are as below:

S. No. PIL Number Court Outcome

1.

2.

WP[c] 15/2012

WP(C)No 5446 OF 2014

Supreme Court of IndiaHigh Court of Delhi

Disposed on 05/08/2013

pending

9. That the petitioner crave for the indulgence of this

Hon'ble Court to allow this wit petition, on following

amongst other:

G R O U N D S

A) Because the main objective of filing this Writ

Petition is to seek a direction from this Hon’ble

Court to the respondents to conduct an enquiry

through a competent authority for very high

incidents of spontaneous burning of cars [i.e. cars

catching fire without any obvious reason] in India

to know the cause and make suggestions for

controlling such incidents in future and also to fix

responsibility of companies, dealers & government

authorities that regulate or check fitness of

vehicles.

B) Because numerous incidents of cars catching

sudden fires are increasing day by day. In most of

such situations doors get permanently locked, not

giving any chance to occupants to escape, but to

be charred alive within minutes in front of helpless

spectators.

C) Because since petitioner did not get any

satisfactory answer or explanation from Ministry of

Surface Transport and Society of Indian

Automobile [an official body] about whether any

official enquiry or forensic study for such incidents

had been done or pending, hence this writ petition

is being filed.

D) Because though we do not have a proper record of

such incidents at a country level, however, as per

Delhi police, at least 35-40 such fire incidents are

occurring every year in Delhi alone. So we can

easily assume that it must be a huge number at

country level.

E) Because it is interesting to note that these fire

incidents have been seen in almost all categories

of cars, like Cars of all sizes or segments [small,

mid & big] including luxury cars & SUVs, Cars of all

companies, cars running on both petrol/diesel and

gas, not only in old ones but in new cars also.

F) Because it is very unfortunate that despite being

such a serious, fatal and unexplained kind of fire

accidents, no proper enquiry/forensic study has

been done by authorities like ministry of surface

transport, ministry of heavy industries, car

manufacturing companies or their regulatory

body, etc.

G) Because it is in the absence of any regulatory and

preventive measures taken by the government

agencies, the petitioner has been left with no

alternative but to file the present writ petition

under Article 226 r/w Article 21 of the Constitution

of India to direct the official respondents to

conduct an enquiry into the incidents of cars

catching fire and fixing the responsibilities on the

automobile industry/companies to ensure that

such incidences do not occur in future.

H) Because as far as response of car manufacturing

companies is concerned, they are very reluctant

on this issue and up till now they have not come

with any satisfactory explanations for that. Though

auto companies are in constant denial mode,

however, it is interesting to note that in recent 2-3

years there are many major instances of recall of

cars by almost all companies for almost all

categories of cars. If there are no malfunctions or

manufacturing defects that are responsible for

such sudden burning of cars, then why these

companies are forced to recall these cars.

I) Because besides catching fire due to automobile

malfunctions, there are several others

manufacturing defects that could be directly

responsible for deaths of drivers or other

commuters on roads like steering failure, brakes

failure, etc. Since fire accidents of cars is such a

distinct phenomenon that is easily noticeable,

while other accidents due to several other

manufacturing defects are not so easily detected

as there is no proper forensic study in our country

for road accidents. That is why these companies

easily pass on the blame to drivers.

J) Because the car makers are supposed to work on

principle of ‘self regulation’ as they are free to

make voluntary guidelines and it is left on

companies to come out to declare generic defects.

This is in contrast to regime prevalent in countries

such as United States, Japan and South Korea,

which have strict regulations on recalls and

specialized bodies looking into them.

K) Because there are ample proofs that car

companies are getting their cars approved by

testing agencies even when their vehicles are not

fulfilling the requirements. A probe by government

appointed panel under CEO of National

Automotive Testing and R&D Infrastructure Project

(NATRiP) to investigate General Motors India’s

recall of over 1.26 lakh Chevrolet Tavera vehicles

has held company responsible for committing

corporate fraud. On 8th February, 2014, a British

Agency [NCAP] reported that all cars having

engine capacity below 1200 CC in India are unfit

for safety point of view and these cars are not

subjected to ‘crash safety tests’ and interesting

point is that these companies passes the blame to

government saying in India it is not mandatory for

such cars to pass crash safety tests.

L) Because at present whatever investigations have

been done, that all have been done by Police

Department. In almost all cases police

investigations remain inconclusive. Police

department says that they don’t have the

necessary infrastructure, equipment and human

expertise for investigation. Therefore proper

investigation is extremely necessary. Since a self

regulatory policy as adopted by automobile

companies is not adequate enough, so some

guideline to fix responsibility is a dire need of

hour. Investigation should also determine about

any evidence of gross or criminal negligence on

the part of dealers / manufacturers.

10. Therefore, petitioner makes a humble prayer to take

necessary action so that such tragic accidents in

future can be minimized and this would also be the

real tribute to our beloved ones who had been the

victim of these fire accidents of vehicles.

P R A Y E R

It is, therefore, most respectfully prayed that this

Hon’ble Court may kindly be pleased to:

(a) Issue an appropriate Writ/Order/Direction to the

respondents to conduct an enquiry through a

competent authority to know the cause for very

high incidents of spontaneous burning of cars [i.e.

cars catching fire without any obvious reason] in

India; and

(b) Issue an appropriate Writ/Order/Direction to the

respondents to make suggestions for controlling

such incidents of cars catching sudden fire in

future; and

(c) Issue an appropriate Writ/Order/Direction to the

respondents to fix responsibility of companies,

dealers & government authorities that regulate or

check fitness of vehicles.

(d) Pass such other or further order/orders or

direction/directions as this Hon’ble Court may deem

fit and proper in the facts and circumstances of the

case.

AND FOR THIS ACT OF KINDNESS THE PETITIONER SHALL EVER PRAY.


PLACE : NEW DELHI ARCHANA PATHAK DAVEDATED : /09 /2015 ANKITA CHAUDHARY



PHONE : 9971222581 [email protected]

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION

CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO. OF 2015In the matter of :Dr. Sanjay Kulshrestha …Petitioner

VERSUSUnion of India & Anr. …Respondents

AFFIDAVITI, DR. SANJAY KULSHRESTHA, Aged 56 year,(MBBS, M.Ch, FIAPS) Sr. Consultant Pediatric Surgeon R/o 1/171, Delhi Gate, Gulab Rai Marg, Agra-2, Uttar Pradesh , presently at New Delhi, do hereby solemnly affirm and state as under:

1. That I am the Petitioner above named. The petitioner is a Doctor having its registered Doctor at Agra. I am Sr. Consultant Pediatric Surgeon.

2. I have filed the present petition as a Public Interest Litigation.

3. I have gone through the Delhi High Court (public Interest Litigation) Rules, 2010 and do hereby affirm that the present Public Interest Litigation is in conformity thereof.

4. I/petitioner have/has no personal interest in the litigation and neither myself nor anybody in whom I am interested would in any manner benefit from the relief sought in the present litigation save as a member of the General Public. This petition is not guided by self gain or gain of any person, institution, body and there is no motive other than of public interest in filing this petition.

5. I have done whatsoever inquiry/investigation which was in my power to do, to collect all data/material which was available and which was relevant for this court to entertain the present petition. I further confirm that I have not concealed in. the present petition any data/material /information which may have enabled this court to form an opinion whether to entertain this petition or not and/or whether to grant any relief or not.

DEPONENT

VERIFICATION:

Verified at New Delhi on .09.2015 that the contents of instant affidavit are correct to the best of my knowledge and nothing has been concealed therefrom.

DEPONENT

ITEM NO.71 COURT NO.1 SECTION PIL(W) S U P R E M E C O U R T O F I N D I A

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS Writ Petition(Civil) No. 332/2015

SANJAY KULSHRESTHRA Petitioner(s) VERSUS UNION OF INDIA & ANR. Respondent(s) (With appln. for permission to appear and argue in person and office person) Date :17/08/2015 This petition was called on for hearing today.

CORAM : HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ARUN MISHRA HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AMITAVA ROY

For Petitioner(s) Mr. Sanjay Kulshresthra, In person

For Respondent(s) UPON hearing petitioner-in-person the Court made the following

O R D E R

Application for permission to appear and argue in person is allowed. Heard the petitioner appearing in person. Shri Sanjay Kulshresthra, petitioner-in person, seeks permission of this Court to withdraw this petition with liberty to approach the High Court for appropriate relief(s). Permission sought for is granted. The writ petition is disposed of as withdrawn with liberty to the petitioner to approach the High Court for appropriate relief(s).

[ Charanjeet Kaur ] [ Vinod Kulvi ] A.R.-cum-P.S. Asstt. Reg

pil for cars catching fire

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