Compliance with statutory requisites and expeditious decision-making by regulatory authorities are crucial in licensing matters.

ORDER

1. The Special Leave Petition arises from an interlocutory order dated 7 March 2022 of a Division Bench of the High Court of Judicature at Bombay in Public Interest Litigation (L) No 9775 of 2020.

2. The petitioners claim to be aggregators within the meaning of Section 2(1A) of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 ['Act'], as amended by Act 32 of 2019. An aggregator is defined to mean a digital intermediary or market place for a passenger to connect with a driver for the purpose of transportation. Section 93 was amended by the Amending Act so as to encompass the business of aggregators. Sub-section (1) of Section 93, inter alia, stipulates that no person shall engage himself as an aggregator unless he has obtained a licence from such authority and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by the State Government. As in the case of other statutes, Section 2(32) defines the expression 'prescribed' to mean prescribed by rules made under the Act. The State Government is conferred with a rule making power, inter alia, by Section 96(1) in terms of which it may make rules for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of Chapter.

3. The first proviso to Section 93(1) stipulates that, while issuing a licence to an aggregator, the State Government may follow such guidelines as may be issued by the Central Government. Though draft rules were issued by the State Government, no rules have been notified by the State Government as of date. The Central Government has formulated Guidelines in 2020.

4. The provisions noted above have been construed recently in a judgment of this Court in Roppen Transportation Services Pvt Ltd v Union of India [Special Leave Petition (C) No 3006 of 2023 decided on 7 February 2023].

5. The Division Bench of the High Court, by the impugned order dated 7 March 2022, observed that in view of the statutory mandate of Section 93(1), no person could be allowed to continue as an aggregator without obtaining a licence. Taking note of the fact that the rules were at the draft stage, the High Court has observed that till such time that draft rules are finalized, the Guidelines of 2020 would hold the field and any person willing to operate as an aggregator must follow the regulatory framework brought about by the Guidelines. Taking note of the statutory regime which was brought into force in 2019 by the amendment of Section 93, the Division Bench observed that the second respondent had permitted aggregators, such as the petitioners, to operate in Maharashtra without insisting on compliance with the statutory requisites and though no statutory licences were obtained. While balancing the equities, the Division Bench held that instead of restraining the petitioners herein from operating in the State, it was inclined to grant an opportunity both to the petitioners and to other unlicensed aggregators to apply for licences as required by sub-section (1) of Section 93. The following interim directions were issued in paragraph 10 of the interim order dated 7 March 2022:

"10. For such purpose, we direct the Transport Department of the State Government to issue appropriate notification in the Official Gazette forthwith and not later than 9th March, 2022 empowering each and every Regional Transport Authority in the State of Maharashtra to act as the Licencing Authority for grant of license under subsection (1) of section 93 of the Act. Since the 2020 Guidelines also refer to an Appellate Authority in paragraph 18, it would be prudent for us to direct that the provisions of section 89 of the Act, which is also part of Chapter V, may be followed in such a case. The State Transport Appellate Tribunal or similar such authority, by whatever name called, shall be the Appellate Authority. We are informed that the Chairman of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Maharashtra, functions in the State as the State Transport Appellate Tribunal and, therefore, such Tribunal shall also be notified to be the Appellate Authority for the purposes