[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Sunfilm now legal?

Source - https://www.manoramaonline.com/news/...s-allowed.html

The source article is in Malayalam. So providing the English abstract of only the relevant portions. Please use Google Translate for reading the full article.

However, the law underlying the court order and the BIS norms (IS 2553) which are the technical basis for it have been amended. In Rule 100 of the Motor Vehicle Act, the word 'safety glass' was changed to 'safety glass' and 'safety glazing'. The amendment was announced in July 2020.

The current standard is that even if the glazing material is glued, at least 70 percent of the light must pass through the front and rear glasses and at least 50 percent through the side glass. The pasting of 'glazing plastics' that meet this standard is not illegal under the new provision. The BIS has strict guidelines for these.

[shibulijack]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Sunfilm now legal?

Source - https://www.manoramaonline.com/news/...s-allowed.html

The source article is in Malayalam. So providing the English abstract of only the relevant portions. Please use Google Translate for reading the full article.

Interesting. I’m planning to get 3M CR70 for my car and I was skeptical only because of the legal implications. Are there any official government documents regarding the same? It’d be great if we can reference some link when the traffic cops ask about the Sun film.

[jalex77]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Sunfilm now legal?

Source - https://www.manoramaonline.com/news/...s-allowed.html

The source article is in Malayalam. So providing the English abstract of only the relevant portions. Please use Google Translate for reading the full article.

Tried hunting for this amendment notification from government sources but couldn't see any.

But here's one article in English on a law firm's web portal about it:-

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.red...ules-2020/amp/

Here's another report from Money control:-
https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/ec...s-5580741.html

And here's the definition for 'safety glazing material' in American law:-

https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionar...ing%20material.

[tilt]

Originally Posted by jalex77

Tried hunting for this amendment notification from government sources but couldn't see any.

But here's one article in English on a law firm's web portal about it:-

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.red...ules-2020/amp/

And here's another report from Money control:- https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/ec...s-5580741.html

I would trust the law-firm's take on this rather than journalists'.

According to that take, check the quoted portions below:

The new amendment provides for using safety glass or safety glazing material while making windscreen and window glass of every motor vehicle,

The safety glass or safety glazing of the windscreen and rear window of every motor vehicle shall be so manufactured to provide not less than 70% visual transmission of light

This interpretation still pertains to the making or manufacturing of the vehicle glass and nothing about modifying after purchase by the individual owners.

So, I would interpret this to mean that we as owners are still not legally permitted to stick sun-control films on the glass.

Cheers

[jalex77]

Originally Posted by tilt

I would trust the law-firm's take on this rather than journalists'.

According to that take, check the quoted portions below:





This interpretation still pertains to the making or manufacturing of the vehicle glass and nothing about modifying after purchase by the individual owners.

So, I would interpret this to mean that we as owners are still not legally permitted to stick sun-control films on the glass.

Cheers

I too have the same view as you here. Till things are more clear and further clarified by the government and authorities, I'll be keeping the windows of my car as they came from factory. I'm not even using stick on/magnetic sunblinds cause they too are against the Supreme Court order when not original equipment of the vehicle.

[thanixravindran]

Here is the link to the amendment that articles refer to

https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/show...re_wheel,_.pdf

Fourth point pertains for the owners that mandates them to maintain the VLT levels. Though I don't have the original rule, I believe this is to ensure that heavy vehicles listed in the amendment to have safety glass or safety glazing and simply not remove them or fail to replace them.

It also can be used to fine any vehicles if the glass is dirty or films and VLT falls below the level prescribed in law

I think no modifications are legally allowed in vehicles without endorsement in RC. So can any lawyer tell whether one can add a sun film and still prove the VLT is as per limits and this can be endorsed by in RC by RTO to become legally compliant.

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by tilt

This interpretation still pertains to the making or manufacturing of the vehicle glass and nothing about modifying after purchase by the individual owners.

So, I would interpret this to mean that we as owners are still not legally permitted to stick sun-control films on the glass.

Originally Posted by jalex77

I'll be keeping the windows of my car as they came from factory. I'm not even using stick on/magnetic sunblinds cause they too are against the Supreme Court order when not original equipment of the vehicle.

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

I think no modifications are legally allowed in vehicles without endorsement in RC. So can any lawyer tell whether one can add a sun film and still prove the VLT is as per limits and this can be endorsed by in RC by RTO to become legally compliant.

Quoting myself from last year. I have read through the judgement and following is the gist.

Originally Posted by AutoNoob

Legally speaking, as per Supreme Court order, any accessory that was not part of Type Approval of that model, is illegal.

[sarathlal]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Sunfilm now legal?

This has got more traction and attention wherein the Car accessories dealers in Kerala are urging the State government to issue an internal circular to make things clear and allow the general public to take advantage of the situation.

Source: https://www.onmanorama.com/news/busi...s-dealers.html

[GTO]

Thanks for sharing, CrAzY dRiVeR! Moving your post out to a new thread. @ BHPians, if you should spot any good post in an existing thread that deserves its own new thread, please report the post and we'll move it out for greater visibility.

Thank you!

Vid6639 shared an interesting comment on the matter:

Very grey area. Safety glazing is the lamination for making safety glasses. You get products that are called safety films like this:

https://madico.com/wp-content/upload...brochure-1.pdf

Now whether these can be twisted / construed as sunfilm being allowed, we don't know.

[Bibendum90949]

This news by Manorama daily is yet another damp squib. A clear case of publishing news without enough research. The baseless news has created so much confusion among motorists. It would lead to at least some car owners losing money. To make matters worse, some self-proclaimed social media influencers and you tubers have jumped into the bandwagon. One such video is below where the presenter says sun films are now allowed and so on . Irony is man is seen holding a full booklet which appears to contain the details of "amendment".

https://youtu.be/9XAnL1AuQ4I

As things stand, sun films on car windows and windshields are illegal.Period. A video(in malayalam though) on the subject by a retired MVI. He explains it clearly.

https://youtu.be/pR5MjT95mCk

Originally Posted by tilt

I would trust the law-firm's take on this rather than journalists'.

According to that take, check the quoted portions below:

This interpretation still pertains to the making or manufacturing of the vehicle glass and nothing about modifying after purchase by the individual owners.

So, I would interpret this to mean that we as owners are still not legally permitted to stick sun-control films on the glass.

This is exactly the matter. The amendment quoted pertains to manufacturing of automotive glasses.

The below comment sums up the matter quite clearly.

* self reporting to merge the posts as time lapsed to edit the last post

[AutoNoob]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Sunfilm now legal?

The pasting of 'glazing plastics' that meet this standard is not illegal under the new provision.

Originally Posted by thanixravindran

Here is the link to the amendment that articles refer to

https://upload.indiacode.nic.in/show...re_wheel,_.pdf

Fourth point pertains for the owners that mandates them to maintain the VLT levels. Though I don't have the original rule, I believe this is to ensure that heavy vehicles listed in the amendment to have safety glass or safety glazing and simply not remove them or fail to replace them.

It also can be used to fine any vehicles if the glass is dirty or films and VLT falls below the level prescribed in law

I think no modifications are legally allowed in vehicles without endorsement in RC. So can any lawyer tell whether one can add a sun film and still prove the VLT is as per limits and this can be endorsed by in RC by RTO to become legally compliant.

In my understanding, its more of a clarification in law for lamination sheets used inside 'laminated glasses' for safety. And any such lamination must follow the VLT norms. This all must happen during manufacturing stage, before Type approval of vehicle.

Nowhere it can be read to allow aftermarket installation of sun-films. Co-reading this with SC judgement, there is no change in legal position for sun-films.


Original Judgement by Supreme Court [24-Apr-2012] : 39269.pdf

Judgement on Interlocutory Appeal [30-Aug-2012] : 39452.pdf

Quoting from the second one [Page 7 & 8] :

In the judgment, after discussing the scheme of the Act, the Rules framed thereunder and Rule 100 read in conjunction with Indian Standard No.2553 Part II of 1992, this court took the view that the Rule does not permit use of any other material except the safety glass ‘manufactured as per the requirements of law’. Rule 100 categorically states that ‘safety glass’ is the glass which is to be manufactured as per the specification and requirements of explanation to Rule 100(1). It is only the safety glasses alone that can be used by the manufacturer of the vehicle.

The requisite VLT has to be 70 percent and 50 per cent of the screen and side windows respectively, without external aid of any kind of material, including the films pasted on the safety glasses. The use of film on the glass would change the very concept and requirements of safety glass in accordance with law. The expression ‘maintained’ has to be construed to say that, what is required to be manufactured in accordance with law should be continued to be maintained as such. ‘Maintenance’ has to be construed ejusdem generis to manufacture and cannot be interpreted in a manner that alterations to motor vehicles in violation of the specific rules have been impliedly permitted under the language of the Rule itself.

Originally Posted by tilt

This interpretation still pertains to the making or manufacturing of the vehicle glass and nothing about modifying after purchase by the individual owners.

So, I would interpret this to mean that we as owners are still not legally permitted to stick sun-control films on the glass.

Originally Posted by jalex77

I too have the same view as you here. Till things are more clear and further clarified by the government and authorities, I'll be keeping the windows of my car as they came from factory. I'm not even using stick on/magnetic sunblinds cause they too are against the Supreme Court order when not original equipment of the vehicle.

+1

Unless another update comes to the regulation, I am sticking with OEM condition for my vehicle.

[corvus corax]

https://www.manoramaonline.com/fastt...film-rule.html

Kerala MVD has sought the report of it's Legal Division arm for further clarification on the Central Government's amendment to allow the application of a plastic layer that meets the prescribed standards on vehicle glass.

According to the Transport Commissioner's Office, the department is seeking clarification on whether the vehicle owner has the authority to paste the film on the glass or whether it has to be done at the vehicle manufacturing stage.

[SPIKE ARRESTOR]

In my opinion, pasting any such film is still illegal, irrespective of the fact, that the pasted film may comply to the VLT norm. We need to understand that VLT is one of the specifications that the windshield should comply to, there are other aspects as well - e.g. how the glass behaves in case of a crash.

Before any such product is brought into market by the OEM / Supplier, it could be reasonably presumed, that they have done all necessary tests needed for compliance to CMVR.

Spike

[govigov]

Manorama had earlier also said that speedcamera fines based on visuals are to be stopped. However, everyone including team-bhp-ians got fined.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/stree...a-visuals.html (Kerala HC stays fines based on speed camera visuals)

If it is a nation wide change, I would wait for national news media to report the news rather than a regional news outlet.

Almost all the car related media websites would have been reporting on this, they would be trying to create so much page views with this news.

As of now, I think it is a waiting game.

[sreerknair]

I think this thread title has to be renamed. Kerala MVD clarified today that the sunfilm is still illegal and whatever amendments were made in the rule is applicable only for glass that comes out of factory fitted to the car.