The Karnataka High Court allowed a writ petition filed under Articles 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India, praying to declare that the provisions of Rule 12 of the Karnataka Motor Vehicle Rules are not applicable to drivers of auto rickshaw cabs or otherwise, declare that condition no.7 in the notification dated 26.03.2018 produced as annexure-e is ultra-vires the act. The Court observed that the requirement of mentioning a driver's badge in an auto rickshaw cab permit does not have any nexus with the purpose of the permit.
Brief Facts:
The petitioners herein were holders of a driving license to drive a light motor vehicle ('LMV' for short), with an intention to obtain an auto rickshaw cab permit for BBMP limits, on 28.10.2021, they filed applications. However, by citing the reason that the applicants did not have a driving license to drive an auto rickshaw cab mandated by notification dated 14.12.2020 issued by respondent no.2, the petitioners' applications were rejected on 29.10.2021 and 11.11.2021.
Contentions of the Petitioner:
The Learned Counsel for the Petitioner submitted that the said rejection would not be in consonance with the Advisory issued by the Central Government on 16.04.2018. It was submitted that as per the law laid down, LMV was a genus of vehicles with species such as transport, non-transport, etc. It was submitted that auto rickshaw cab would fall under the transport category.
Contentions of the Respondent:
The Learned Counsel for the Respondent submitted that the writ petition was not tenable and petitioners were not entitled to any reliefs. It was argued that Section 3(1) of MV Act. mandates that only a person holding a valid and effective driving license to drive a particular class of vehicle would be authorized to drive it in a public place.
The Court noted that the main grievance of petitioners is the bar against issuance of auto rickshaw permits within BBMP limits to persons not holding driver's badge numbers in respect of transport vehicles.
The Court observed that the requirement of mentioning a driver's badge in an auto rickshaw cab permit does not have any nexus with the purpose of the permit. Restricting the right to apply for permits only to persons holding a driving license to drive a transport vehicle along with a driver badge would be an unreasonable classification violative of principles of equality envisaged in Art.14 of the Constitution of India, 1950.
Provisions of the MV Act, namely Sections 66, 69, 70, 72 73, and 74 would indicate that stage carriage/contract carriage permits are issued to a specified person in respect of the specified vehicle, without linking them to the driving license of the permit holder. They would only mandatorily require that only a person holding a driving license to drive a particular class of vehicle would be authorized to drive transport vehicle subject to other provisions of the MV Act
The decision of the Court:
The Karnataka High Court, allowing the petition, held that Respondents no.3 and 4 are directed to consider petitioners' applications for grant of auto-rickshaw permits in accordance with law as expeditiously as possible, within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order.
Case Title: Mr. Deena Dayalan V. & Anr. vs State of Karnataka
Coram: Hon’ble Justice Ravi V Hosmani
Case no.: WRIT PETITION NO. 3036 OF 2022 (MV)
Advocate for the Petitioner: Mr. Mohammed Dastagir
Advocate for the Respondents: Mr. G.M. Chandrashekar
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