ALL KERALA DRIVING SCHOOL WORKS ASSOCIATION REPRESENTED BY ITS CHAIRMAN THOMAS KINATTUKARA NANTHENCODE THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Vs. UNION OF INDIA REPRESENTED BY SECRETARY MINISTRY OF SHIPPING ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE first petitioner is an Association of a driving school and petitioners 2 and 3 are its office bearers. THEir complaint is that the (1) Motor Vehicles Department is not entitled to collect learner's licence fee from the candidates who had already passed the preliminary test and failed to appear or did not pass in the driving test, when they apply on the second occasion, (2) That Rule 5 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as the 'Rules') prescribing the minimum period of 30 days for appearing for driving test after taking the learner's licence is irrational, illegal, ultra vires and in violation of Article 14 and 19 of the Constitution of India, (3) That the instructions given in Ext P7 Circular, not to send the driving licence in the address of the agent is bad in law, (4). That their representation Ext.P8 was not considered by the Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport & Highways, New Delhi in which they have ventilated their grievances as narrated above.

(2.) THE petitioner has also produced an additional document along with I.A.No.948/2012. It is a Circular dated 7.12.2011 issued by the Transport Commissioner which indicates that under certain circumstances the documents can be given directly to the applicant.

(3.) GOING by the grievance of the petitioners, each item can be considered separately. The first contention is whether the Motor Vehicles Department is entitled to collect learner's licence fee from the candidates who had already passed the preliminary test and failed to appear or did not pass in the driving test, when they apply on the second occasion. According to the Government, only a nominal fee of Rs.30/- is charged. No doubt when the validity of the learner's licence is only for six months, a fresh application is required which also requires certain infrastructural expenditure which necessarily has to met by the candidate and it is not possible for the Driving School Association to demand change of fiscal measures of charging such fee.