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2022 Supreme(Online)(KER) 41657
HIGH COURT OF KERALA
VADAKARA MUNICIPAL AREA AUTO RICKSHAW THOZHILALI CO-ORDINATION COMMITTEE – Appellant
Versus
THE REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICER, VADAKARA – Respondent
WP(C)/1336/2016
The court affirmed that local residency requirements for granting auto rickshaw permits are unlawful, emphasizing public interest and welfare in transportation management.
Headnote:
Transport - Auto Rickshaw Permits - Kerala Municipality Act, 1994, Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 - The court affirmed the Regional Transport Authority's decision to withdraw residential restrictions on auto rickshaw permits as it recognized the illegal nature of such restrictions, emphasizing the Municipality's obligation to provide necessary infrastructure for public transport.
Fact of the Case:
Petitioners challenged RTA's decision to restrict auto rickshaw permits to local residents only. Ext. P1 judgment established that this restriction was unlawful, leading RTA to convene a meeting to approve additional permits without local residency requirements.
Finding of the Court:
The court concluded that the RTA acted within its powers and addressed the legalities correctly by removing the residential restriction on the issuance of auto rickshaw permits, complying with previous judicial findings.
Issues: Whether the RTA's decision to grant additional auto rickshaw permits despite challenges was grounded in legality or contained arbitrariness.
Ratio Decidendi: The RTA's actions were deemed lawful as they were aligned with prior judicial determinations, which asserted that residency-based restrictions on permits could not be imposed without violating fundamental rights.
Final Decision: The court upheld the RTA's decision to grant auto rickshaw permits without residency restrictions.
J U D G M E N T
This writ petition is filed by an organization called Vadakara Municipal Area Auto Rickshaw Thozhilali Co-ordination Committee which is said to be an association of auto rickshaw workers in Vadakara Municipality seeking a writ of certiorari to quash Ext. P2 decision taken by the Regional Transport Authority, Vadakara, the 2nd respondent, in its meeting held on 27.11.2015, whereby the following decision was taken:- “Heard. 3 sets of application for the grand of autorickshaw permit in and around Vatakara Municipality town led by messrs Sri. M P. Purushu, Sri. Vigesh and Sri. Roopesh urged by judgment in WPC No. 27381/2013, WPC No. 13819/2015 and WPC No 29172/2015 respectively have came up for consideration today.
The petitioners in WPC No 27381/2013 are not the residence of Vatakara Municipal area. The Court has held that non-consideration of their applications for the operation within the Municipal area for want of the residential address within the said area is unlawful. This RTA has on 05/05/2015 directed the secretary RTA to make a detailed study in consideration with local self Government institution and traffic advised committee.
The report has been submitted by the secretary and the same has come up for consideration today.
The judgment No. WPC.13819/2015 preferred by Sri.
Vigesh and 16 other person directs the RTA to consider the applications within two months. The applicants are of course residents within the municipal town.
WPC No.29172 also urges the RTA to consider the application within one month. The applicants being residents of the municipal town. There are two important decision existing in regard to the grant of autorickshaw permits in Vatakara region.
(1) RTA, Vatakara on 26/03/2013 decided to grant 1000 permits. There exists a decision of the RTA that autorickshaw permits would be granted only to the residents of the municipal area for operating service within the municipal area. The Secretary RTA was entrusted to fix the norms and criteria for fixing the permits. Applications were invited from applicants having residents in the municipal area and certain number of permits were granted to eligible applicants.
Various organizations such as:
1) Vatakara municipal area Autorickshaw Thozhilali co- ordination Committee
2) Kozhikode District Motor & Engineering Welfare Union (CITU)
3) Revolutionary Motor Thozhilali Union etc. have intervened for and against the grant of permits in an around Vatakara municipal area. They have on several occasions indulged in Dharna, march and such other agitations in front of the RTOffice and obstructed the smooth functioning of the office. A set of applicants who are not residents of municipal area have acceded to the decision of RTA. And they have been deprived of variation of their permits. This authority feels that the discontented applicants and their organizations if any would go on continuing their agitations on untenable and political grounds which are certainly not in public interest.
All the circumstances described above were led to by the decisions taken by the RTA, Kozhikode and RTA, Vatakara on various occasions with regard to fixing the sealing in the no. of autorickshaw permits, the RTA seems to have exceeded its jurisdiction as observed by the Hon'ble High Court in WPC No 29216/2014 ( Rajesh v. Secretary RTA 2014 KLT 341 ). The said decision of respective RTA's need to be subjected to further review by the RTA so as to consider applications for permits in accordance with law which shall be placed before the next RTA for consideration.
In view of the urgency of matter and illegality crept in the decision in fixing the sealing in the no. of permits;
1) Hereby withdraw the condition restrict in the plying of vehicles outside the municipal limits only in the case of petitioners in WP(c) No. 27381/2013, WP(c) No.
13819/2015 and WP(c) No. 29172/2015;
2) Withdrawal of the said conditions would amount to variations of permit which attracts payment of the prescribed fee. The
