The Kerala High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking a directive to the State government to take necessary action to ensure that the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) does not operate its fleet for tour purposes without obtaining special permits under the Motor Vehicles Act.
The petition was filed by Justin O.S., a private bus operator in Kochi. He contended that the KSRTC buses, which had permission to operate in a particular area, could not be used for conducting tour operations violating the provisions of the MV Act.
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The court observed that tourism was one of the major sources of revenue in the State. The government had taken various measures to promote tourism. In order to provide easy access to pristine tourist locations, the KSRTC had announced budget packages. The KSRTC had special area permits under the scheme.
The petitioner could not be granted a permit under the scheme that had been promulgated for the KSRTC. The area permits were special permits as provided under Section 88(8) of the MV Act. Therefore, it did not find any substance in the submission of the petitioner that tour operation of the KSRTC was in violation of the provisions of the MV Act and rules.
The operations of the KSRTC were well within the provisions of the scheme formulated in 2013. Its operations did not infringe any of the legal or fundamental rights of the petitioner, the court said.
