Kerala has decided to revoke a circular making seat belts compulsory for passengers in the rear cabin of vehicles.

The Motor Vehicles Department and the Commissioner of Transport had jointly notified the rule saying that it would be implemented with immediate effect.

This had been in the aftermath of death of Gopinath Munde who had been sworn in as a Union Cabinet Minister in a road accident in New Delhi.

The State Government will soon notify withdrawal of the circular, according to Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan, Minister for Transport.

Speaking in the State Assembly today, he said this was being done in view of a torrent of complaints of hardship from motorists.

“There are rules and rules available for enforcing traffic discipline. But not all of them are desirable from a practical point of view,” the Minister said.

Enforcing the rule will only result in an unending series of bookings of motorists on the roads bringing a lot of inconvenience to all parties concerned.

Hence, the rethink on the part of the government, the Minister said, while replying to a submission in the House.

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