Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Mahindra Electric Mobility ... vs The State Of West Bengal And Others on 16 February, 2022
16th February, 2022
(D/L No.51)
(SKB)
W.P.A. 2070 of 2022
(Via Video Conference)
Mahindra Electric Mobility Limited and others
Versus
The State of West Bengal and others
Mr. Ranjan Bachawat,
Mr. Rudraman Bhattacharyya,
Mr. Surojit Dasgupta,
Mr. Meghjit Mukherjee,
Mr. Vidhya Upadhyay
... for the petitioners.
Mr. Pantu Deb Roy,
Mr. Pannalal Bandopadhyay
... for the State.
Affidavit of service filed in Court today is kept on
record.
The petitioners have challenged a rejection letter
dated 13th January, 2022 by the Transport Directorate,
Government of West Bengal restraining the registration
of the petitioners' battery operated vehicles. The basis
of such rejection has been stated to be an order passed
by the learned Alipore Court on 24th February, 2022 in
T.S. No.27 of 2018. The learned Alipore Court in turn
relied on an order passed by a learned Single Bench of
this court in G.A. 3378 of 2014 in C.S. No.388 of 2014
by which the learned Judge had passed an interim order
of injunction restraining the respondents in G.A.3378 of
2014 from infringing the plaintiffs' patent in relation to
Eco-friendly vehicles.
Upon hearing learned counsel appearing for the
parties, it appears from records that the interim order of
the learned Single Judge dated 17th June, 2015 in G.A.
3378 of 2014 was vacated by a subsequent judgment
dated 18th July, 2018 in G.A. 2786 of 2017 upon a
contested hearing.
Learned counsel appearing for the petitioners
urges that the petitioners were not parties to the suit
before the learned Alipore Court in which the order of
injunction was passed and which in turn was relied
upon by the State Transport Directorate. It is also
submitted that the petitioner no.1 deals in lithium
batteries as opposed to zinc batteries which formed part
of the controversy before the learned Single Judge of
this court.
Learned counsel appearing for the State seeks to
sustain the impugned order of the Transport Directorate
on the ground of the order of the learned Alipore Court.
This court accepts the submissions made on
behalf of the petitioners that one of the three bases of
the learned Alipore Court's order was the order of the
learned Single Judge passed in G.A. No.3378 of 2014.
Admittedly, the order of injunction was vacated by a
subsequent order dated 18th July, 2018 in G.A. No.2786
of 2017. It is also undisputed that the present writ
petitioners were not the parties to T.S. No.27 of 2018 in
which the order of the learned Alipore Court was
passed. Hence, this court is of the view that the
impugned order rejecting the registration of the
petitioners' battery operated vehicles should be modified
to the extent of the petitioners' batteries and e-vehicles
being under a different category.
The Transport Directorate, Government of West
Bengal is accordingly directed to instruct the concerned
Regional Transport Offices to grant registration to the
electric vehicles manufactured by the petitioner no.1
subject to the petitioners' e-vehicles being different or
distinctive from the category forming the subject matter
of the order passed by the learned Alipore Court. It is
made clear that the order of the learned Alipore Court is
not being interfered with since the petitioners have the
liberty of taking steps against the order on the grounds
stated before this court.
Needless to say, the Registering Authority shall
grant the registration of the petitioners' battery operated
e-vehicles subject to the petitioners fulfilling the relevant
statutory provisions and rules framed thereunder.
W.P.A.2070 of 2022 is disposed of in terms of the
above.
Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if
applied for, be made available to the parties upon
compliance with the requisite formalities.
(Moushumi Bhattacharya, J.)
