IMPORTANT POINTS
Orders other than an award passed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal constituted under Section 165 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 can be assailed only in original petitions filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India. Similarly, orders passed by the State Transport Appellate Tribunal constituted under sub-section (2) of Section 89 of the Act can also be assailed in original petitions under Article 227 of the Constitution of India.

ORDER :

1. The issue raised in W.P. (C) Nos. 37048 and 37069 of 2018 filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India and in O.P. (C) No. 1777 of 2018, which is one filed under Article 227 of the Constitution of India, is whether the judgments of the State Transport Appellate Tribunal constituted under sub-section (2) of Section 89 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 can be challenged before this Court invoking the writ jurisdiction under Article 226 or whether it should be challenged in an original petition filed under Article 227, by invoking the supervisory jurisdiction. In order to decide that issue, the question that has to be considered is whether a Judicial Officer, not below the rank of a District Judge or who is qualified to be a Judge of the High Court, appointed in terms of the notification issued by the State Government under sub-section (2) of Section 89 of the Motor Vehicles Act, is exercising powers in the capacity of a civil court or as persona designata.

2. Heard learned counsel for the petitioner in the respective writ petitions/original petition, learned Special Government Pleader for the official respondents and also the respective counsel for the party respondents.

3. In Ramanatha Aiyar's Law Lexicon the meaning of "Persona Designata" is given as follows:

“Persona Designata: Where a person is indicated in a statute or legal instrument not by name, but either by an official designation or as one of a class, a question sometimes arises whether he ceases to be the person so indicated on losing his official designation or his character as one of the class, or whether the intention was to single him out as a persona designata, that is, as an individual, the designation being merely a further description of him. Designatio personae then, in general, means simply the singling out by description of a party to a deed or contract: or a person taking thereunder such party or person being in turn called persona designata. (Ency. of the Laws of England). When difficulty is found in ascertaining whether a person takes as person a designata, the maxim "Desigrtatio unius est exclusion aftertaste expressum facit cessare tecitum" is applicable ; in other words, if one person is specified, another is excluded on the principle that what is expressed makes what is only understood to give way."

4. Section 89 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 deals with appeals. As per sub-section (1) of Section 89, any person aggrieved by the orders enumerated in clauses (a) to (g) thereof, may, within the prescribed time and in the prescribed manner, appeal to the State transport Appellate Tribunal constituted under sub-section (2), who shall, after giving such person and the original authority an opportunity of being heard, give a decision thereon which shall be final. As per sub-section (2) of Section 89, the State Government shall constitute such number of Transport Appellate Tribunals as it thinks fit and each such Tribunal shall consist of a judicial officer who is not below the rank of a District Judge or who is qualified to be a judge of the High Court and it shall exercise jurisdiction within such area as may be notified by that Government. Section 90 of the Act deals with revision. Ad per Section 90, the State Transport Appellate Tribunal may, on an application made to it, call for the record of any case in which an order has been made by a State Transport Authority or Regional Transport Authority against which no order by not against the direction so issued.

5. In exercise of the powers under sub-section (2) of Section 89 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 the State Government issued S.R.O. No. 338/2018 appointing Dr. Kauser Edappagath, District and Sessions Judge, Ernakulam as State Transport Appellate Tribunal, Ernakulam to hear and dispose of appeals under sub-section (1) of Section 89 of the Motor Vehicles Act, in addition to the normal duties as District and Sessions Judge, Ernakulam in the place of Shri N. Anilkumar, with effect from the