JUDGMENT :

P.V. KUNHIKRISHNAN, J.

1. The point to be decided in this case is whether the exclusion of ‘mentally retarded persons’ from the category of ‘physically handicapped persons’ in Ext.P3 notification issued by the Government by invoking the powers under Section 22 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Taxation Act, 1976 (for short the “Act, 1976”) is discriminatory or not.

2. The short facts narrated in the writ petition are as follows:

The petitioner is a mentally retarded person and the writ petition is filed through his guardian, his mother. A perusal of Ext.P1, the Standing Disability Assessment Board Certificate issued by the competent authority, will show that the petitioner is having mental retardation (moderate) and his permanent disability was assessed as 75%. It is stated in the writ petition that the petitioner is fond of outings apart from that, if he is kept in the house itself, he often becomes restless and his behaviour sometimes becomes unpredictable. However, at the same time, it is very difficult for him to travel in the public transport system because of his physical disabilities. So, in order to integrate with the society, the parents of the petitioner thought of purc