Maya Pal v. State Of West Bengal And ORS.

WPA 19542 of 2024 16.8.2024 Maya Pal ct.25, sl. 23 vs sk The State of West Bengal & Ors. Mr. N.I.Khan Mr. Amlan Kr. Mukherjee ...for the petitioner.

Mr. Pantu Deb Roy,Ld. A.G.P.

Mr. Subrata Guha Biswas ...for the State.

Mr. Bhaskar Nandi.

...for the respondent nos. 18 & 19.

Affidavit of service filed by the petitioner is taken on record.

The petitioner's grievance is ventilated before the RTA, Nadia vide letter dated 26.06.2024. The grievance is with respect to illegally plying of contract carriage by the private respondent nos. 18 & 19 in violation of permit conditions as well as the guidelines as prescribed vide notification dated 29.1.2010.

Mr. Khan, learned advocate appearing for the writ petitioner has submitted on the basis of the documents available on record that by dint of the notification as above, the Transport Department has laid down certain guidelines to be followed in case of grant of contract carriage permit to three wheeler Auto rickshaws. He submits that the 21 vehicles belonging to the private respondents plying through the 3 separate routes, that is, Chakdaha Bharti Hall to Mankur, Chowgacha to Chakdaha and Bishnupur to Chakdaha, have been

granted permit, not in compliance with the said guidelines but in gross violation thereof. He says that the permits granted to the private respondents being de hors the law for the reason as stated above, the same are liable to be cancelled by the concerned respondent authority.

Learned advocate appearing for the State respondent has not raised objection, in case the Court directs for consideration of the representation submitted by the petitioner, before the appropriate authority.

The private respondent nos. 18 & 19 have, however, raised objections as to the contentions and prayer of the writ petitioner as above, on the ground that they owned ply the vehicles from a date even before the said notification was published on 29.1.2010. Hence, they deny that the said notification is at all applicable to them. Considering the facts and circumstances of this case, this Court finds it proper to direct the Regional Transport Authority, Nadia to consider the petitioner's representation dated 26.6.2024 and dispose of the same by dint of a reasoned order.

In doing so the concerned respondent shall afford opportunity of hearing to the petitioner, the private respondents No. 18 & 19 and any such other interested person/s as it may deem fit and proper.

The entire exercise as above shall be concluded within a period of four weeks from the date of communication of this order.

The decision shall be informed to the petitioner as well as the private respondents by dint of a written communication, within a week thereafter.

Since no affidavit-in-opposition has been called for in this case, all allegations made in this writ petition are deemed to have been denied by the concerned respondent.

The writ petition No. WPA 19542 of 2024 is disposed of.

Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of all formalities.

(Rai Chattopadhyay, J.)