The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the Superintendent of Police (SP) of Una to investigate the issuance of fake driving licenses to various residents and initiate criminal proceedings if any cognisable offence is identified during the inquiry.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice Gurmeet Singh Sandhawalia and Justice Bipin Chander Negi issued these directives while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) that highlighted suspicious and allegedly forged driving licenses issued from different states to residents of Una district.
The court impleaded the Una SP as a respondent in the case. The bench directed that if any cognisable offence is established, the SP should register a First Information Report (FIR) and constitute a Special Investigating Team (SIT) headed by a senior police officer, without waiting for the outcome of the court proceedings.
The court observed that, prima facie, several fake driving licenses appeared to have been issued to beneficiaries who were not even residents of the states from which the licenses purportedly originated.
The bench noted that many of these beneficiaries were residents of Una district, as reflected in the Aadhaar cards linked to the driving licenses.
Referring to one of the licenses placed on record, the court pointed out glaring discrepancies in the document. The license described itself as an 'Indian Union Driving Licence, Madhya Pradesh,' while the issuing authority was shown as DTO Itanagar. The license holder, Mukesh, is a resident of Una in Himachal Pradesh, whereas the license number carried the code 'UP,' generally associated with Uttar Pradesh.
The bench also mentioned another driving license that appeared to have been issued by the Bihar government. However, the assistant Regional Transport Officer (RTO) listed on the license was from Sultanpur, and the registration code carried the initials 'MH,' which pertains to Maharashtra. The license holder in this case was also stated to be a resident of Una.
The court further noted that the Aadhaar card number of one Manjeet Singh, a resident of Una, appeared to be identical to that of another individual, Hardeep Kumar, raising further suspicion of forgery and identity manipulation.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on June 23.
