JUDGMENT :

BECHU KURIAN THOMAS, J.

1. The pestilence in the form of Covid-19 has created situations and consequences that are unprecedented. Apart from the health of individuals, every establishment including the Government, has been affected financially and otherwise. Manufacture, consumption and transportation had come to a halt or dwindled, creating ripples in the State economy. Measures introduced as part of national and statewide lockdowns affected the movement of people and goods. Public transportation had to be curtailed and regulated to prevent the spread of the virus. While the Government-run/supported, public transportation could withstand, to a large measure, the perils of the pandemic, the privately run public transportation system could not bear the economic brunt of the circumstances. The present batch of writ petitions brings to the fore, the woes of a certain category of owners of motor vehicles which cater to public transportation.

2. These writ petitions are preferred by owners of stage carriages as well as contract carriages, claiming the benefit of exemption from payment of tax for the period affected by the restrictions and regulations imposed due to Covid-19 pand