Nine hrs after accident on Samruddhi Expressway, bus was issued PUC certificate

The private bus which caught fire on the NagpurMumbai Samruddhi Expressway leading to the death of 25 passengers was issued a Pollution Under Control PUC certificate nine hours after the horrific incident an RTO official said on TuesdayThe authority has now sought a report from the local Regional Transport Office in this regardThe sleeper coach bus with registration number MH29 BE1819 ran into the road divider around 130 am on July 1 in Maharashtras Buldhana district and caught fireAs many as 25 passengers perished in the accidentThe PUC certificate was issued against the same registration number at 1037 am on the same day when the gutted shell of the bus must have been lying near the accident spotThe certificate can also be seen on the Vahan database of the Union Ministry of Road Transport and HighwaysTransport commissioner Vivek Bhimanwar told PTI that a First Information Report FIR would be registered against the centre which issued the PUC certificate if it was found to be at faultHe has sought a report from the Yavatmal deputy Regional Transport Office he saidSources in the RTO said the earlier PUC certificate of the bus had expired on March 10 2023A Yavatmalbased PUC centre with the code number MH0290041 issued a new PUC certificate with validity till June 30 2024 on the morning after the accident indicating that the centre never bothered to inspect the vehicleYavatmals deputy RTO office has already issued a showcause notice to the PUC center and the owner of the bus said an officialIt is mandatory for every vehicle owner to have a valid PUC certificate showing that it complies with the emission norms A vehicle without a PUC is liable to be prosecuted under the Motor Vehicles ActIn August 2017 the Supreme Court in M C Mehta vs Union of India and Others had directed insurers not to insure a vehicle unless it has a valid PUC certificateAn RTO officer said it was possible that the bus owner tried to obtain a new PUC certificate after the accident fearing that his insurance claim would be rejected but in any case a PUC centre must never issue a certificate without physically inspecting a vehicleIt is mandatory for a PUC centre to capture a live photograph of a vehicles number plate when pollution levels are measuredThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever