Order

Delay condoned.

2. This special leave petition arises from the judgment and order of the Andhra Pradesh High Court dated December 29, 1995 made in Writ Petition No. 23323 of 1995. The petitioners are the owners of the goods motor vehicles and were plying the same on the basis of pucca national/State permits issued by the appropriate transport authori­ties. When they challenged the validity of GOMS No. 54 dated March 31, 1995 issued by the Department of Transport (Roads and Buildings) en­hancing the compounding fee from Rs. 10 per k.g. to Rs. 100/- per k.g. as being violative of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short, the “Act”) and arbitrary being violative Article 14 of the Constitution, the Division Bench in the impugned judgment upheld the said GOMS.

3. Section 194 of the Act enacts penal sanctions for driving a vehicle in violation of Sections 113 to 115 of the Act with a minimum fine of Rs. 2,000/- and additional amount of Rs. 1,000/- per tonne of excess load together with liability to pay charges for off-loading of the excess load. Sub-section (2) thereof imposes penalty on the driver who refuses to stop and submit the vehicle to weighing after being direct­ed to do so by