The Attorney General has instructed IGP not to take legal action against the motorcyclists wearing full-face helmets as per the gazette notification issued in 2017, the Court of Appeal was informed today.
Additional Solicitor General Parinda Ranasinghe PC appearing on behalf of the Attorney General informed court that the Attorney General has given instructions to the IGP not to institute legal action as per the provisions of extraordinary gazette notification (No. 2007/39) dated February 23, 2017 which imposed certain restrictions on the use of full-face helmets by the motorcyclists.
Update:
Full-face helmets allowed: AG instructs IGP not to implement law
Lakmal Sooriyagoda
The Attorney General has instructed the IGP not to take legal action against motorcyclists wearing full-face helmets as per the gazette notification issued in 2017, the Court of Appeal was informed yesterday.
Additional Solicitor General Parinda Ranasinghe PC appearing on behalf of the Attorney General informed court that the Attorney General has given instructions to the IGP not to institute legal action as per the provisions of extraordinary gazette notification (No. 2007/39) dated February 23, 2017 which imposed certain restrictions on the use of full-face helmets by motorcyclists.
Counsel Dharshana Weraduwage also submitted to court that the relevant regulations is not valid in law since it was not approved by Parliament.
This petition had been filed by Namal Prasanga of Wellawaya, a motorcyclist and a businessman by profession. Prasanga alleged that the Wellawaya police had initiated legal action against him for wearing a full-face helmet in violation of the extraordinary gazette notification.
The Attorney General gave an undertaking not to take any further legal action against the petitioner at the Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court as per the regulations.
Accordingly, Prasanga decided to withdraw the petition filed challenging the gazette notification banning the use of full-face helmets since he obtained relief.
Through this Extraordinary Gazette Notification No. 2007/39, February 23, 2017; then Transport Minister had imposed certain restrictions on the use of helmets by motorcyclists effectively prohibiting the use of full-faced helmets.
The Petitioner states that he had used a full-face helmet for a period of over a two and a half year period and on December 11, 2018 he was stopped on the roadside by a Police Constable attached to Wellawaya police at Warunagama, Wellawaya, alleging that the use of full-face helmets was banned. He was ordered to surrender his full-faced helmet together with his driving licence. He had handed over his helmet and driving licence and was issued with a permit in lieu of driving licence. However, he was not issued with a receipt for his crash helmet which was taken into custody and was directed to appear in the Magistrate’s Court, Wellawaya on January 8 2019.
The Petitioner states that on December 19, 2018, Wellawaya police OIC had reported the facts of the said incident to the Wellawaya Magistrate’s Court by case number 15879 and had sought orders from the Court to send the detained helmet to the Sri Lanka Standards Institute for a report on the helmet and clearly had submitted that they suspect a violation of the concerned regulations.
The Petitioner states that the action initiated against him is arbitrary and it violates the equal protection of the law and it also violates the health and safety measures afforded to motorcyclists to protect them from severe facial and other injuries.
