Section 1
[(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the National Highways Authority of India constituted under the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988 (68 of 1988) or any other agency authorised by the Central Government, may cause or permit traffic signs, as provided in the First Schedule, to be placed or erected or removed on national highways for the purpose of regulating motor vehicle traffic and may order the removal of any sign or advertisement which in its opinion is so placed as to obscure any traffic sign from view or is so similar in appearance to a traffic sign as to mislead or is likely to distract the attention or concentration of the driver:
1 [(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the National Highways Authority of India constituted under the National Highways Authority of India Act, 1988 (68 of 1988) or any other agency authorised by the Central Government, may cause or permit traffic signs, as provided in the First Schedule, to be placed or erected or removed on national highways for the purpose of regulating motor vehicle traffic and may order the removal of any sign or advertisement which in its opinion is so placed as to obscure any traffic sign from view or is so similar in appearance to a traffic sign as to mislead or is likely to distract the attention or concentration of the driver:
Provided that for the purposes of this sub-section, the National Highway Authority of India or any other agency authorised by the Central Government may seek assistance from the authorities of the State Government and the said State Government shall provide such assistance.]
(2) Traffic signs placed or erected under sub-section (1) for any purpose for which provision is made in the Schedule shall be of the size, colour and type and shall have the meanings set forth in the Schedule, but the State Government or any authority empowered in this behalf by the State Government may make or authorise the addition to any sign set forth in the said Schedule, of transcriptions of the words, letters or figures thereon in such script as the State Government may think fit, provided that the transcriptions shall be of similar size and colour to the words, letters or figures set forth in the Schedule.
(3) Except as provided by sub-section (1) 1 [or sub-section (1A)], no traffic sign shall, after the commencement of this Act, be placed or erected on or near any road; but all traffic signs placed or erected prior to the commencement of this Act by any competent authority shall for the purpose of this Act be deemed to be traffic signs placed or erected under the provisions of sub-section (1).
(4) A State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, empower any police officer not below the rank of a Superintendent of Police to remove or cause to be removed any sign or advertisement which is so placed in his opinion as to obscure any traffic sign from view or any sign or advertisement which is in his opinion so similar in appearance to a traffic sign as to be misleading or which in his opinion is likely to distract the attention or concentration of the driver.