Srinagar, Apr 23: Citing a “growing and disturbing trend” of reckless driving and illegal vehicle mods, Kashmir’s Special Mobile Magistrate (Traffic) ordered Cyber Police to target promoting social media accounts, warning they threaten public safety and violate the law.
In a 2-page order issued today, the court observed that individuals across Kashmir have been “indulging in reckless driving, performing dangerous stunts on public roads/highways, and operating motor vehicles fitted with illegal modifications,” including sirens, pressure horns, tinted glasses, modified exhaust systems and unauthorised lights.
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The court noted that these violations are not limited to physical acts on roads but are being amplified online. “Such people are recording videos of the aforesaid unlawful acts and are willfully uploading and circulating the same on various social networking platforms… thereby not only glorifying violation of law but also instigating, abetting and encouraging other individuals, especially youth, to emulate such acts,” the order, as per Kashmir Dot Com, reads.
Highlighting the wider implications, the magistrate said these actions “endanger public safety, cause noise pollution, amount to public nuisance and the dissemination thereof on social media constitutes furtherance of offence.”
The petition, filed by Pir Baseer Ullah through Advocate Surat Shakeel, brought to the court’s attention several social media posts and videos allegedly showing vehicles with illegal modifications and individuals performing stunts on public roads. The court observed that such modifications violate Section 52 of the Motor Vehicles Act, while reckless driving falls under Section 184.
Significantly, the court also flagged the role of social media in spreading such content, stating that “the act of uploading such videos… amounts to abetment of offences under section 188 of the M.V Act 1988, an issue of which this Court can take cognisance.”
Issuing notice to the respondents, the court directed the SHO/In-charge Cyber Police Station Kashmir Zone to “identify social media handles/pages/accounts that are uploading, sharing, or promoting videos of stunts, rash driving, and illegally modified and tinted vehicles” and submit a report before the next hearing.
“The petitioner has raised important issues which require the indulgence of this court,” the order stated, underlining the seriousness of the matter.
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The case has been listed for further proceedings on April 30, 2026. (KDC)
