Nellai Mavatta Nellai Santhippu Mungupathi Railway Board v. The District Collector
BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT Date : 18.12.2025
CORAM
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE G.R.SWAMINATHAN AND THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE R.KALAIMATHI & M.P.(MD)Nos.3946 & 3947 of 2020 Nellai Mavatta Nellai Santhippu Munpaguthi Railway Board, Recognized Auto Driver's Labour Welfare Union, Rep. by its Secretary, 2-A, Shiamalammal Sannathi Street, Meenakshipuram, Tirunelveli.
... Petitioner Vs.
1.The District Collector, Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli.
2.The Divisional Manager, Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation, Vannarpettai, Palayamkottai, Tirunelveli.
3.The Regional Transport Officer, N.G.O-B Colony, Tirunelveli.
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4.The Deputy Station Master, Southern Railway, Tirunelveli.
5.The Commissioner of Police, Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli.
6.The Inspector of Police, Traffic Police Station, Tirunelveli Junction, Tirunelveli.
... Respondents PRAYER: Writ Petition filed Article 226 of the Constitution of India, praying this Court to issue a Writ of Mandamus, to direct the respondents 1 to 3 to regulate the stopping of buses in the permitted temporary Bus Stop ie., near Arasan Bakery at Tirunelveli Junction and also direct the respondents 5 and 6 to take action against the violators of the drivers and conductors of the buses within the time fixed by this Court. For Petitioner : Mr.H.Arumugam For Respondents : Mr.M.Siddharthan Additional Government Pleader for R1 & R3 : Mr.R.Rajamohan for R2 : Mr.K.Govindarajan CGSI for R4 : Mr.K.Gnanasekaran Government Advocate (Crl.side) for R5 & R6 2/8
ORDER
(Order of the Court was made by G.R.SWAMINATHAN, J.) Heard both sides.
2. The writ petitioner is an association of auto drivers who are operating from Tirunelveli Railway Junction. This writ petition was filed in March 2020. During the relevant time, the new bus stand was under construction. It appears that the buses were stopping near Arasan Bakery at Tirunelveli Junction and this was affecting the business of the members of the petitioner association. It is not in dispute that the new bus stand has been fully constructed under the Smart City Project and therefore, the position that obtained in March 2020 may no longer be prevalent. Be that as it may, the core grievance of the petitioner appears to be that the buses should not be allowed to enter the junction premises.
3. The petitioner's counsel states that each driver is paying a sum of Rs.4,000/- for every six months towards license fee and that therefore, the buses should not be allowed to enter the junction premises. 3/8
4. This contention may not be sound. As rightly pointed by learned DSGI and the learned Additional Government Pleader as well as the learned Standing Counsel for the corporation, the choice should be left to the passenger to choose his or her mode of service. It is also stated that only those buses with appropriate route permit are permitted to enter the junction premises and not all the buses. This position is made clear in the counter affidavit filed by the Inspector of Police, Junction Traffic Circle, Tirunelvi City. Paragraph Nos.5 to 8 of the counter affidavit filed by the sixth respondent read as follows:- 4/8
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5. The petitioner has no fundamental right to insist that buses should not be allowed to enter the junction premises.
6. Recording the stand taken by the sixth respondent in the counter affidavit, the writ petition is disposed of. No costs. Consequently, connected miscellaneous petitions are closed. (G.R.S., J.) (R.K.M., J.) 18.12.2025 Index : Yes / No Internet : Yes / No NCC : Yes / No rmi 6/8
To 1.The District Collector, Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli.
2.The Regional Transport Officer, N.G.O-B Colony, Tirunelveli.
3.The Commissioner of Police, Tirunelveli District, Tirunelveli.
4.The Inspector of Police, Traffic Police Station, Tirunelveli Junction, Tirunelveli.
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G.R.SWAMINATHAN, J.
AND R.KALAIMATHI, J.
rmi 18.12.2025 8/8