Stop Roadside Power Display

In a region like Jammu & Kashmir, where security imperatives dominate everyday governance, the unchecked misuse of stickers and insignias on private vehicles is not just a breach of traffic norms but a potential threat to public safety. It is alarming to witness individuals masquerading under the garb of authority—by displaying army, police, press, and other official emblems—creating an atmosphere of undue privilege and subtle intimidation on the roads. Such actions not only defy the legal framework but also undermine the ethos of equality before law. Allowing these practices to continue is akin to opening dangerous backdoors that could be misused by anti-social elements to exploit systemic loopholes, especially in a place grappling with security sensitivities.
It is quite intriguing that despite J&K being a sensitive region from a security point of view, there are entities in the Union Territory taking things for granted by flouting norms by way of using stickers and insignias of army, police, press, etc., just to give a tacit message to fellow commuters and even authorities at times not to mess with them as the same may land them into deep trouble although there is no provision under law to offer any exception to such private vehicles or their owners or occupants.
There is not an iota of doubt in the fact that these stickers need a complete ban because such a classification has no meaning under the law of the land and therefore the Traffic Police and other authorities should take cognizance ensuring that no entity indulges in this wrongful act. Even at times, doctors, advocates and other professionals also use such stickers with the same aim of ‘intimidating’ others, spreading a perception that they belong to a special class, which is not true at all because for the law of the land all such commuters fall in the same category with an exception for certain classes like vehicles used for official work, etc.
As far as Military vehicles are concerned, the same have a separate registration system, they are easy to differentiate. Press vans also look different with their dish antennas, etc., therefore these also need no stickers. Official vehicles have to be used for official purposes. If someone is using a private vehicle for the same, the onus lies on him or her but that doesn’t allow a special provision or any extraordinary bounty.
In a nutshell, this brazen display of unauthorized insignias is not only illegal but dangerous. A strong crackdown is imperative.