The Kerala High Court has observed that all-India tourist vehicles cannot be permitted to operate as stage carriages.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh made the observation while passing an interim order recently on a writ petition filed by Abdulla N. Naushad, and his wife, owners of a tourist bus based in Kollam seeking to restrain the Motor Vehicles department enforcement officers from detaining their vehicle that had a valid all-india tourist permit and from imposing any penalty on them.
The petitioners said they had been issued penalty challan for the reason that the passengers were boarding and alighting from different points en route. The court further observed that all-India tourist permit vehicles could not be permitted to operate as stage carriage as it is detrimental to the stage carriage operators, including the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC). If the petitioners were violating the permit conditions, they are liable to be fined.
50% of penalty
The court ordered as an interim basis that the petitioners should pay 50% of the penalty amount and the remaining amount shall be subject to the outcome of the writ petition challenging the action of the transport officials. The court further observed that the authority would be free to take appropriate action, if they found that the vehicles were operating in violation of the permit conditions.
