MUMBAI, Aug. 9 -- The Bombay High Court earlier this week said that the sale of helmets that were non-compliant with the standards prescribed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) was "out of the question". Justices Bharati Dangre and Manjusha Deshpande observed in their order of August 4 that helmets were brought under the BIS prescription in the wake of rising number of two-wheeler accidents and fatalities. "It served the larger interest to minimise the cases of fatalities despite a motorcycle/ scooter rider meeting with an accident and if the quality of the helmet was ensured, which was duly prescribed by the BIS by taking into consideration all the safety measures in consultation with the experts in the field, a person could be saved from suffering a fatality." Partly allowing the sellers plea, the court, however, asked the bureau not to pursue the prosecution of a helmet seller whose consignment of imported helmets was seized for not meeting the Indian standards - IS 4151:2015 and the Quality Control Order (QCO) enforced in 2021 - after he agreed not to sell the helmets in India. The BIS told the court that if the sale of the helmets in the market is disallowed by the court, the prosecution against the sellers could be withdrawn. The court said, "Helmets which require compliance with BIS Standards and when the QCO made it imperative that from June 1, 2021 'Helmet for riders of two-wheeler vehicles' must be compliant with IS 4151:2015, we are of the view that the request of the petitioners (seller) to permit the sale of the vehicles in the market, is out of question". Project Revolt LLP (PRL) that runs the Lazy Ass Bikers showroom in Andheri, had imported 'safety helmets' for two-wheeler riders from France, USA, Taiwan, Italy, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Germany, and China. PRL had moved the High Court after the BIS confiscated 90 imported helmets during a search and seizure operation on December 3, 2021. The helmets were seized after they were found to be non-complaint with the QCO. After 2021, only helmets manufactured in accordance with IS 4151:2015 and bearing the standard mark were permitted to be imported in India for sale. PRL had, however, said that the seized helmets were imported between 2016 and 2021 and not after the QCO was enforced. Seeking the return of the helmets, PRL told the court that the helmets had a shelf life of three to five years and their quality would deteriorate while they remain seized. "It was thus deemed necessary to have an appropriate headgear to be designed and this was the only helmet to be used by the motorcycle riders," the court observed....