ECONOMIC TRANSPORT ORGANISATION Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is a firm engaged in the business of transporting goods by road, and is a "public carrier" as defined in s. 2 (23) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939. THE head office of the firm is at Calcutta , but it has regional offices at Ernakulam, alleppey, Cannanore, Trivandrum , Kozhikode and some other District headquarters of Kerala State. At Trichur and palghat, it has only "agency offices". By Exts. P1 to P5 notice issued by the Regional Transport Officers of Ernakulam, Alleppey, Cannanore, Trivandrum and Kozhikode , the petitioner was required to take out "agency licences" under R. 225 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules and the question is whether the notices are valid.

(2.) S. 66a of the Motor Vehicles Act reads: "66a. Agent or canvasser to obtain licence. (1) No person shall engage himself (i) as an agent or canvasser, in the sale of tickets for travel by public service vehicles or in otherwise soliciting custom for such vehicles, or (ii) as an agent in the business of collecting, forwarding or distributing goads carried by public carriers, unless he has obtained a licence from such authority and subject to such conditions as may be prescribed by the State Government. (2) The conditions referred to in sub-section (1) may include all or any of the following matters, namely: (a) the period for which a licence may be granted or renewed; (b) the fee payable for the issue or renewal of the licence; (c) the deposit of security (i) of a sum not exceeding rupees five thousand in the case of an agent in the business of collecting, forwarding or distributing goods carried by public carriers, (ii) of a sum not exceeding rupees five hundred in the case of any other agent or canvasser, and the circumstances under which the security may be forfeited; (d) the provision by the agent of insurance of goods in transit; (e) the authority by which and the circumstances under which the licence may be suspended or revoked; (f) such other conditions as may be prescribed by the state Government. " Section 68 (2) (ww) authorises the State Government to make rules with respect to "the licensing of agents engaged in the business of collecting, or forwarding and distributing goods carried by public carriers. " Rule 225 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules provides for the "licensing of agents engaged in the business of collecting, forwarding and distributing goods carried by public carriers". Provisions are made for the Form in which application for licence has to be made, the form in which it is to be granted, the period of the licence and its conditions, approval of the premises used by the licensee, rates of commission he can charge and other allied matters. In particular, clause (a) of sub-rule (1) defines an agent in the following terms: " (a) "agent" means any person who engages directly or indirectly in the business of (i) collecting; (ii) forwarding and distributing; (iii) collecting, forwarding and distributing; goods carried by any public carrier. "

(3.) THE learned Government Pleader contends that the permit granted to a public carrier under S. 54 and 56 authorises him only to transport goods, and not to collect, store, forward and distribute them. That may be so. And if the statute prescribes that a separate licence for collecting, forwarding etc. is also to be taken out by him, that can be given effect to. But the Motor Vehicles Act does not apparently contain any such prescriptions. S. 66a only requires an "agent" to take out licence; and in the guise of giving effect to this provision, the rule-making authority cannot prescribe a licence for the carrier also, for the sole reason that in its opinion, such a licence will also be desirable. Apart from S. 66a and 68 (2) (ww), the Government Pleader is not able to refer to any other provision of the act which authorises the rule-making authority to frame a rule like R. 225. And in so far as the definition in R. 225 (1) provides for licences in respect of persons other than agents, the definition is beyond the rule-making power.