The Chhattisgarh High Court has pulled up the State administration over its failure to curb public nuisance and traffic violations during celebrations on public roads, directing the Chief Secretary to file a personal affidavit explaining the lapses.

The Division Bench of Chief Justice Ramesh Sinha and Justice Bibhu Datta Guru issued the direction while hearing a suo motu PIL, which stemmed from a Times of India news report dated June 19, 2025, titled “Cop's wife celebrates b’day on official car: FIR mentions 'unnamed driver.'”


The Court expressed strong displeasure over the manner in which an FIR was lodged against an “unknown driver,” despite the video clearly showing the wife of a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and her friends celebrating a birthday on the bonnet of an SUV fitted with a blue beacon.

“Despite efforts made by the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, yet another incident of this nature has come to light. The initial response of the authorities, including the registration of the FIR against an unknown person, is unacceptable,” the Court observed.

The viral video showed the DSP's wife cutting a cake on the bonnet of an XUV 700, with women dangerously hanging out of the vehicle's doors and sunroof, while the car was parked near a hotel in Ambikapur. The SUV, reportedly the private vehicle of a DSP posted in the Balrampur-Ramanujganj district, was illegally fitted with a blue beacon reserved for official use.

The Court questioned the legal authority under which the beacon was mounted on a private vehicle and demanded to know what action, if any, had been taken against the offenders.

Further, the Bench criticized the police for failing to identify the individuals in the video, stating that when faces are clearly visible, it is the responsibility of the law enforcement agencies to ascertain the identities of all involved.

The incident led to the registration of an FIR by Saragwan police under Sections 177, 184, and 281 of the Motor Vehicles Act, all relating to traffic violations.

The Court directed the Chief Secretary to personally explain in an affidavit the reasons behind the recurrence of such public nuisance incidents despite earlier directions, and to outline steps being taken to prevent them in the future.

The matter is listed for further hearing after submission of the affidavit.

[Inputs: TOI]

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