An association cannot engage in the profession of representing vehicle owners without specific authorization from the owners.

A.B. Pal, J.

1. Heard Mr. D.K. Biswas, learned Counsel for the Petitioner and Mr. T.K. Roy, learned Advocate General along with Mr. A. Ghosh, learned advocate for the Respondents.

2. This writ proceeding has been instituted by the All Tripura Vehicle Owners' Representatives Association which claimed to be a registered Society and a representative body of the vehicle owners authorized representatives. The Petitioner has claimed that the members of the Association have been engaged in the profession of representing the vehicle owners in performing the various works related to grant and renewal of licence, permits, registration of vehicles etc. which they used to do as agents of the vehicle owners. This was the only source of livelihood of the members of the Association and the practice of getting those works done through the agents was an old and accepted system. The Association has enlisted fifty members who have been working within the office premises of the Deputy Transport Commissioner and enjoyed credibility of all concerned. But in the month of August, 2003 the Respondent directed the Petitioner to demolish or remove its office situated within the office complex of the second Respondent where the vehicle owners used to meet the members of the Association in order to engage them to do the above noted works on their behalf. However, in order to maintain peace and amity, the Petitioner raised no dispute and shifted to their office to a nearby rented house. But the second Respondent remained vindictive against the Petitioner Association for reasons not known and adopted various means to prevent the members of the Petitioner from transacting business on behalf of the vehicle owners in the office of the said Respondent. Even a Police case was instituted by that Respondent against the Petitioner following which eleven members of the Association were arrested but finally investigation ended without any formal accusation against the members of the Association. It is the grievance of the Petitioner that by the above act of the second Respondent the fundamental right of the members of the Association enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution by taking away their livelihood stood violated calling for interference of this Court with a direction to the said Respondent to allow the members of the Association to perform lawful work as agent or representative of the motor vehicle owners without any obstruction.

3. The State Respondents resisted the above claims of the Petitioner contending, inter alia, that the members of the said Association are, in fact, touts and middlemen who had been engaged in unlawful activities in the office premises of the Transport authority in connivance with the staff working in the office of the second Respondent and thus harassing and humiliating the vehicle owners who were not allowed to transact business on their own but forced to engage those touts and middlemen for getting their works done. It is the specific case of the State Respondents that no owner or operator of the vehicles has ever approached the second Respondent that they intend to be represented by the members of the Petitioner-Association for registration, grant or renewal of licence of their vehicles or for any other work and as a matter of fact when the office of the Association was forced to be shifted and the Respondents came down heavily on the brokers and middlemen several representative body of the vehicle owners supported the move and requested the second Respondent to continue with the tirade and demolish the vicious caucus. Such representations came from South Tripura Bus Owners Association, Bus Unit, affiliated to CITU, Tripura Auto Rickshaw Workers' Union, Tripura Truck Operators' Association and Mini Bus, Jeep and Taxi Drivers Syndicate. In a letter to the Transport Minister, All Tripura Vehicle Owners' Syndicate on 7.11.2004 urged upon the competent authority to do away with the presence of the brokers in the office of the