Madras HC to hear BJP’s plea to stop Formula4 Chennai night street race on August 28

CHENNAI: The Madras High Court (MHC) agreed to hear the Tamil Nadu BJP unit’s petition to restrain the State from conducting the proposed Formula 4 car race event within the city limits.

The case was mentioned before the first division bench of acting Chief Justice D Krishnakumar and Justice PB Balaji. After numbering the petition, the bench agreed to hear the case on August 28 (Wednesday).

The petitioner ANS Prasad, the media spokesperson of BJP, moved the petition seeking to halt the event scheduled from August 31 to September 1 in the city.

He contended that the event would jeopardize the public as it would be conducted in the vicinity of the Island Grounds. The race cars would run on a 3.7 km track covering Flag Staff Road, Anna Salai, Swami Sivananda Salai, Napier Bridge, and Kamarajar Salai.

Irrespective of the alternate diversions being announced, the closure of these hotspot roads would cause undue hardship to the commuters who use the said road daily, said the petitioner. Formula 4 cars or any car used in motorsport events are designed specifically to be used in enclosed premises, allowing such cars on the city road is a direct violation of various provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, added the petitioner.

Pointing out that the State didn’t release any official notification or a press release regarding the event, he emphasised that the entire process of the car race event lacks transparency.

The petitioner further submitted that the race is being conducted discreetly by deeming the car race event to the policy decisions of the State to avoid any sort of judicial interference.

The government is conducting the race hastily without giving proper thought to it and it has also failed to put out safety measures or control the traffic while putting up the structures on the streets of Chennai for the proposed race, he added.