Kerala High Court asks man with disability in arm how he can be allowed to drive with "one short leg"

A single judge Bench of the Kerala High Court on Thursday said that it was not inclined to allow a plea filed by a man (petitioner) with a disability in his arm for a regular driving licence [Rudranath AS v State of Kerala & ors]..Interestingly, the judge commented that the petitioner's "short leg" may pose such a safety risk if he were allowed to drive, despite the counsel for the man clarifying that the petitioner's legs were fine. "It will be difficult to apply breaks when it is required. One leg is short, one leg is long. How will you apply the breaks?" Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh asked when the matter was heard today. "The disability that I have is that my right upper limb is short with only three fingers ... Both my legs are perfectly alright," the petitioner's counsel clarified. "No, I will not risk the general public by granting these kinds of orders," Justice Singh maintained. The petitioner's counsel responded by urging the Court to grant an opportunity for the petitioner to prove that he was capable of safely driving a vehicle."I have been instructed that the petitioner is capable enough to drive the vehicle," he said. Representing the State, Government Pleader Gopinath told the Court that the question was whether the petitioner could be allowed to drive a modified vehicle or a regular vehicle. "You can only drive a modified vehicle, not the regular vehicle. Don’t risk yourself and the others on the road ... If you obtain the licence today, tomorrow you can go drive a BMW and hit somebody on the road," Justice Singh went on to observe. .The petition before the Court was moved by one Rudranath AS who was aggrieved by the denial of an opportunity to obtain a driving license on account of a 40 per cent disability in his arm. He argued that he possessed the necessary medical clearance to undergo a driving test. Despite this, he said that his request to take a driving test was denied by the Regional Transport Office (RTO) and subsequently by the Deputy Transport Commissioner.He contended that this refusal was violative of his right to equality under Article 14, and the freedoms under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution of India..The hearing today began with minor confusion over Rudranath's age. When his counsel recounted that Rudranath had approached the RTO for a driving test at 18 years of age, the Court misheard the number and asked,"At the age of 80, how can you attain license?"This aspect of the matter was promptly clarified. However, more confusion ensued when the judge made comments on the state of the petitioner's legs. Despite a clarification that the disability lay in the petitioner's arm, Justice Singh repeated his concerns over Rudranath's legs in a later part of the hearing as well. "I will not amend the law ... See understand, I don’t go by these judgements, physical fitness certificate is required to drive a vehicle. Which doctor will give you the certificate that he is fit to drive the vehicle? When you have one short leg and one long leg," the judge observed. .The Court proceeded to urge the petitioner to drive a specially modified vehicle and not a regular one, while adding that it was inclined to dismiss the petition..The petitioner's counsel, in turn, requested the judge to post the matter before another Bench. Justice Singh replied that he could either dismiss the plea or keep it pending. "I can dismiss your petition or I can keep it waiting,. Try your luck before the same bench, I am not convinced for now," the judge said. Acceding to the ensuing request by the petitioner's counsel, the case was kept pending. .Advocates Renjith B Marar, Lakshmi N Kaimal, P Rajkumar, Keshavraj Nair, Arun Poomulli, Preetha S Chandran, Abhijith Sreekumar, Anand Remesh, Abhiram S, CR Rekha, Gaadha Suresh, and Anagha K Ayriyil represented the petitioner.