Your car on road is not private space: Supreme Court

It's my car, it's my space. Not really.

The Supreme Court has added a new dimension to the common belief, ruling that a car on the road cannot be treated as private space.

This interpretation has wide-ranging ramifications. There are several laws that punish certain acts committed in a public place. For instance, the Bombay Police Act allows the police to take action for "indecency" in a public place. This now extends to a moving car.

The SC ruling came during the hearing of a case from Bihar, where alcohol is banned.

The state police had arrested a group of drunk men travelling in a car and charged them for consuming liquor in a public place. After a trial judge fastened the charges on them, they approached the SC asking if a private car can be termed a public place.

The petitioners also contended that there was no booze in the car. In their defence, they said they had consumed alcohol in Jharkhand and had come to Patna to attend a meeting of the Rotary Club, being its members. They were caught at Nawada check post on June 25, 2016. The law prescribes a maximum jail term of seven years.

A bench of Justices Ashok Bhushan and KM Joseph found the key to the problem in the words "public access". It held, "When a private vehicle is passing through a public road it cannot be accepted that public has no access. It is true that the public may not have access to a private vehicle as a matter of right but definitely public have the opportunity to approach the private vehicle while it is on the public road."

Based on this interpretation, the apex court rubbished the claim of the accused that they should be immune from the definition of a public place. While the bench found nothing wrong with the action of the trial judge and the Patna High Court order of February 16, 2018, upholding the same, it allowed the accused to approach the trial court.

Under Section 294 of the Indian Penal Code, the word "public place" comes up in case of obscene acts or songs that annoy others. SC's take on this case could help law enforcers to curb such acts.

Root In Bihar Booze Ban

• SC interpretation comes in a case where few drunk men travelling in a car were arrested in dry Bihar 
• This means one can now face action under the Bombay Police Act for ‘indecency’ in a moving car