OD-1 ORDER SHEET WPO/147/2025 IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction ORIGINAL SIDE TARUN KUMAR MAHATO VS THE STATE OF WEST BENGAL & ORS.

BEFORE:

The Hon'ble JUSTICE RAI CHATTOPADHYAY Date : 11th March, 2025.

Appearance:

Mr. Sankarnath Mukherjee, Adv.

Sk. Samim Akhter, Adv.

…for the petitioner Mr. Pantu Deb Roy, Ld. AGP Mr. Subrata Guha Biswas, Adv.

..for the State

1. The petitioner intends to obtain a stage carriage permit for inter-

region operation for which he has applied before the concerned respondent authority.

2. His application was granted by the State Transport Authority, West Bengal vide its resolution of meeting dated December 12, 2024. Consequently, an offer letter was given to him dated January 27, 2025. In terms of the said offer letter, the petitioner has produced a B.S. III norms compliant vehicle but till date, he is to receive the permit for the same, in terms of the earlier decision of the Board as mentioned above. Hence, this writ petition.

3. Mr. Mukherjee, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner has submitted that since the prayer of the petitioner has been granted by the Board and in terms of the offer letter, the petitioner has already produced the vehicle, withholding issuance of permit to him even after that is an illegal act in violation of the mandatory statutory provision. Thus, he has alleged violation of legal rights of the petitioner by the impugned action of the respondent authority. He submits that the present writ petition may be allowed by directing the respondent authority to issue permit to the petitioner, immediately.

4. For the respondent State, Mr. Deb Roy, learned Additional Government Pleader has appeared.

5. The State would rely on a notification dated June 2, 2023 and submits that the BS-IV emission norms compliant vehicle is the requirement, as per the guidelines as prescribed in the said notification dated June 2, 2023. Since the petitioner has produced the vehicle not in terms of the guideline as above but inferior to the same, the permit has not yet been issued to the petitioner.

6. Mr. Mukherjee in reply has relied on the following two orders of this Court dated 02.07.2024 and 03.01.2025, in WPO No. 392 of

2024 and WPA No. 29994 of 2024 respectively.

7. He has submitted that in the backdrop of the similar facts and circumstances, the Court, in the said earlier cases has allowed the writ petitions, by directing the respondent authorities to issue permit to the petitioner.

8. In the instant case, the petitioner has sought for issuance of permit to him for the stage carriage on the route from Belpahari Bus Stand to Manbazar Bus Stand. The route is outside Kolkata Metropolitan area.

9. Be that as it may, the necessary non-statutory guideline in this regard is available in the notification dated June 2, 2023. Let the relevant portion thereof be quoted as hereinbelow:-

“A. Registration & allied services:

...

ii. In case of Inter-State routes, the State Transport Authority will encourage placement of BS-IV emission norms compliant vehicle preferably. The State Transport Authorities of all the Reciprocating States may be informed and requested by the State Transport Authority, West Bengal to issue their permits (i.e. reciprocating states) accordingly.

...

v. If the route is exclusively outside Kolkata, the vehicle to be placed in case of new permit, may preferably be minimum BS- IV emissions norms compliant, except the cases mentioned below in para c.”

10. Therefore, the guidelines as above have provided that BS-IV emission norms compliant vehicle may be preferred for issuance of a permit. The choice of words ‘may’ and ‘preferably’ has made those guidelines not to be a mandatory one, so far as production of BS-IV compliant vehicle is concerned, for the purpose of issuance of permit.

11. The guidelines have also referred that if the route is exclusively outside Kolkata, the vehicle to be placed in case of new permit, may preferably be BS-IV emission norms compliant.

12. The Court had