Recently, the Bombay High Court directed the Mumbai Police to investigate how a local resident obtained an 'authorized' sticker meant for Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) and affixed it to his personal car.

This order came during a hearing of a quashing petition filed by the accused, whose neighbor had reported to the police that an MLA sticker was improperly displayed on the accused's vehicle, despite no one in the family being an MLA. The neighbor subsequently lodged an FIR against the accused for using the vehicle with an unauthorized sticker.

A division bench comprising Justice Ajay Gadkari and Justice Neela Gokhale instructed the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Mumbai Police, to determine the source of the sticker found on the vehicle.

The court emphasized the need to curb the misuse of such stickers, citing the widespread unauthorized display of police stickers on motorcycles in the city.

The bench expressed concern that these bogus stickers could be used to evade law enforcement or even commit crimes, calling for a thorough investigation into the matter.

The Court says “Mr. DCP our main concern is that whether those stickers were genuine or not. We find from the investigation till now that this aspect is not yet probed. If the sticker were genuine, they must have been issued by the secretariat of the legislative Assembly.... you must ascertain the source of those stickers? Because those stickers are issued only to sitting or ex-MLAs and it is prosecution case that the no one in the family of the accused is an MLA. So, from where did they obtain such stickers?”

The accused argued that the Emblem and Names Act only prohibits the use of the emblem for commercial purposes. However, the judge countered, stating that the emblem cannot be used for illegal activities and questioned the legal basis for a private citizen displaying such a sticker on their personal vehicle. The court decided to withhold any decision on quashing the case until a report from the Mumbai Police is submitted.