The main legal point established in the judgment is that for an area to be considered a 'public place' under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, the public must have a right of access, and purely permissive access does not qualify. This interpretation influenced the court's decision regarding the requirement of a permit for the operation of stage carriage services in the parking area adjacent to the Cochin Aerodrome.

1. The first petitioner is the Taxi Drivers' Union and the second petitioner, a taxi driver, is the Secretary of the Union. Members of the Union and other taxi drivers have been parking their taxi's in the Parking Area adjacent to the Cochin Aerodrome buildings and collecting passengers alighting from the various flights. The right to collect fees for the use of the parking area has been given on contract under Ext. P2(a). Aerodrome building and the park area are situated about one furlong away from the National Highway. The road connecting the national highway and the aerodrome building is called for the purpose of this case, as the 'link road'. The first respondent, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, decided to introduce with effect from 18-5-1981 two stage carriage services under the name "Boeing Limited Stop Fast Passenger from Cochin Aerodrome to Guruvayoor for the convenience of passengers reaching Cochin from Bombay by Boeing flights. The buses have stops at Ernakulam Jose Junction, Alwaye By-pass, Angamali, Chalak-kudi, Kodakara, Amballoor, Trichur, Kunnamkulam and Chavakkad. These two buses are to start not from the point in the National Highway nearest to the aerodrome building. They start right from the parking area adjacent to the aerodrome building, pass through the link road and reach the National Highway. Petitioners have no grievance if the two buses start from the point in the National Highway nearest to the Aerodrome building without passing through the link road or reaching the parking area in the aerodrome. They apprehend that if these buses are allowed to pass through the link road and reach the parking area, passengers with destination towards north upto Guruvayoor would prefer to travel by these buses, which are cheaper, rather than engaging taxi's and thereby the custom and income of the taxi drivers would be considerably reduced. The learned counsel for the petitioners urged two main contentions against the introduction of the two bus services from the parking area of the aerodrome. The first contention is that the parking area and the link road are "public places" and in order to operate stage carriage services in a public place, permit is necessary under S.42 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (for short the 'Act') and no such permit to cover the link road and the aerodrome parking place has been obtained by the first respondent. The second contention is that the first respondent has a right to obtain a permit under Chapter IV A only for operating stage carriage services in a highway and the link road and the parking area adjacent to the aerodrome building are not part of any highway and therefore the first respondent is not entitled to a permit under Chapter IV A of the Act.

2. The first respondent is the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation, represented by its Chairman. The second respondent is the Government of India, represented by its Secretary, Civil Aviation Department and the 3rd respondent is the Aerodrome Officer, Cochin Airport. The 3rd respondent has filed a counter affidavit on behalf of respondents 1 to 3 stating, inter alia, Cochin aerodrome is actually a Naval Air Station belonging to the Defence Department of the Government of India and is a protected place, that Civil Aviation Department is permitted use of the land on the terms and conditions contained in Ext. RI for construction of a civil enclave temporarily and additional land was allowed for this purpose under Exts. R2 and R3 and construction of certain buildings also was sanctioned. Cochin aerodrome and premises are even now under the control of the Navy, that site of the link road also belongs to the Defence Department and it was made available to the Civil Aviation Department as per Ext. R3, that terminal building was put up by the Civil Aviation Department, that the link road has gates at its approach near the National Highway, and that link road is open for use by those having connection with flights and a