C LAKSHMI NARAIN Vs. GOVERNMENT OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE prayer in the writ petition is for the issue of mandamus to the respondents directing them to (1) disclose to this Court the names of the drivers and conductors of the PTC buses who have abandoned their buses and blocked the traffic on the roads on 11.7.1989 near Gajendra Hotel and LIC building, Mount road, Madras-2, on 30.7.1989 near Tambaram on the GHT Road, on 31.7.1989 on Poonamallee High Road, Near Ega THEatre Junction, on 10.8.1989 at Millers Road, Kilpauk, Madras-10 at about 6.00 p.m. and on the same day at about 8.00 p.m. near Doveton Corner, Vepery, Madras and to disclose as to what disciplinary action the respondents have taken against the erring crew with regard to the above 5 incidents. (2) If no action has been taken for punishing the crew like cancelling their driving licence or imposing fine, suspension or dismissal etc., so far with regard to the above 5 instances, to take immediate disciplinary action against the erring PTC crew within a time that may be fixed by this Court, and (3) to spell out what action the respondents are going to take in future for prevention of the repetition of the abandoning of the vehicles by the PTC crew on the roads. THE petitioner is a member of several social welfare organisations. He has been writing his views on various topics of interest both political and civic problems in THE Hindu, THE Indian Express and other newspapers in the Letters to the Editor' columns and the view expressed by him are appreciated by the general public. THE present writ petition is filed as a public Interest litigation in view of growing lawlessness among the PTC crew members holding the public to ransom. THE Chairman of the second respondent is the officer holding the office of Director General of Police. THE need for the highest police official to be the Chairman of P.T.C. is to ensure that the special training undergone by him as police officer can be utilised for crime detection and maintenance of law and order. THE petitioner has addressed meetings giving several suggestions for the improved performance of the P.T.C. (now Madras Metropolitan Transport Corporation) and other bus services in the mofussil. One of his suggestions has been that the law must be made applicable equally to all citizens including the State Transport crew. THEre have been several instances when P.T.C buses were allowed to go through one way traffic streets in spite of such regulations for the flimsy reasons of conservation of diesel, etc., when ordinary citizens get to be prosecuted for violating one way rule. THE petitioner has informed that such one way restrictions are equally applicable to State Transport Buses also.

(2.) IT has become a shameful habit for the State Transport crew to abandon their buses in a haphazard manner in the middle of the roads whenever some trouble arise invariably between a commuter and a crew member. In spite of their blocking the traffic by abandoning the vehicles sometimes for several hours and causing untold inconvenience and difficulties to every passenger on the road, the respondents have not taken any disciplinary action against them and in any event the public have not been informed about the disciplinary action taken against the erring crew by the respondents. There have been several instances of the lawless attitude of the bus crew. On 11.7.1989 the then P.T.C. bus crew abandoned their vehicles on the roads on the ground that one of the P.T.C. crew picked up a quarrel with the employees of Gajendra Hotel at Mount Road, near LIC building and assaulted. This was published as news item in the front page of the Indian Express in its issue dated 12.7.1989. On 30.7.1989 at Tambaram there was an altercation between the then PTC crew and Tiruporur M.L.A. Dr. Thirumoorthy's supporters resulting in police using mild force and there was a traffic hold-up along with GST road for several hours as the then PTC crew joined TPTC crew. This was also reported in the newspapers. On 31st July 1989 on Poonomallee High road the then PTC busmen held the junction near Ega Theatre because a conductor on route 15 was stabbed by a young man when he was asked to purchase a ticket. On 10.8.1989 at Millers Road, Kilpauk P.T.C crew deserted buses demanding action against a passenger who had assaulted a colleague following an altercation on route 74 resulting in another traffic jam upto Ega Junction for two hours from 6 p.m. On the same day near Doveton Corner Vepery Madras around 8 p.m., a conductor was allegedly assaulted by a checking inspector of the same P.T.C resulting in abandoning the vehicles by the PTC crew then and thea along Purasawalkam High road. The petitioner had a meeting of Lions Club of Nungambakkam at Hotel Taj Coromandel of which he is a member and because of the traffic jam he could not reach the meeting in time. Several protests by the public against the unruly conduct and behaviour of the crew of the PTC have been going unheaded and due to the inaction of the respondents, the PTC crew member have started believing that they are above law and they can get away with whatever they want because of their might. On several occasions those things happened. The respondents have not made any note or the number of the buses for taking action against them and the only thing they have been doing is to meekly surrender to the arrogant and unlawful behaviour of the crew of PTC, persuade and beg to them to take back the vehicles assuring them that erring member will be dealt with according to law. People who have to reach the railway station, the airport and other places have been unable to reach in time and the pregnant ladies who have got to reach the nursing homes are prevented from reaching the destination. Apart from the above, whenever the buses are abandoned on the road, the passengers who have bought the tickets are mercilessly pulled down from the vehicles and made to walk miles and miles for reaching their destinations. Such a sad state of affairs is continuing and all that one should do to paralyse the traffic on the main road is to just pick up a quarrel with the conductor which would ignite hundreds of buses getting abandoned on the roads without knowing the real reason and also not bothering to know as to who is responsible for such altercation.

(3.) ON 29.7.1989 two passengers claiming to be the relatives of Thiruporur M.L.A. had demanded and insisted that their dog should be allowed to travel along with them in the bus from Tambaram to Thaiyur and when the crew of the TPTC town bus refused to permit the dog to travel in the town bus, the two passengers allegedly roughed them up. It was further alleged that the crew of TPTC town bus were refused admission for their treatment at Chrompet Government Hospital. During the conciliatory talks on 30.7.1989. tension piled up and trouble arose, with the result the police used mild force to disperse the bus crew. In the said melee, some of the transport employees were also injured in the police action. Agitated by this, the employees of other transport corporations had joined the protest and abandoned their vehicles. Thus, it would be clear that in either of the two incidents the second respondent's crew, that is the then PTC's crew were not at all involved and only when some of their colleagues were injured, out of sudden provocation and anguish they were left with no alternative other than to show their protest in the manner they did. It is not a concerted, pre - planned or pre-meditated plan or decision in resorting to abandonment of vehicles. Human psychology, behaviour pattern of the drivers out of sudden provocation knowing that one of their colleagues had either been assaulted or injured, they were put under severe psychological stress and lose their control due to emotional upset and in order to register their frustration, agony and out of anguish they abandon their vehicle, fearing that they would not be in a position to drive the vehicle safely in that atmosphere. In a way the drivers abandoning their vehicles at the circumstances is a common phenomenon and an occupational hazard practically reported to have occurred in every corner of the globe.