The Hindu : New Delhi News : Supreme Court stays HC order on speed governors

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, Feb 27, 2008
ePaper | Mobile/PDA Version

New Delhi

New Delhi

Supreme Court stays HC order on speed governors

J. Venkatesan

The matter will come up for hearing on March 10

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday stayed a Karnataka High Court judgment making it mandatory for all transport vehicles in the State to be fitted with speed governors within the specified time limit.

A three-Judge Bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan, Justice R.V. Raveendran and Justice J.M. Panchal stayed the judgment on special leave petitions (SLPs) filed by the Association of Commercial Vehicle Operators and Karnataka and Mysore Rasthe Sthaliya Saraku Saganike Malikara Sangha, challenging the judgement.

The Bench, after hearing senior counsel P.P. Rao, stayed the operation of the judgment till March 10, when the matter would come up for further hearing.

The counsel submitted that the High Court gave the judgement when the issue of speed limit was pending before a committee constituted by the Centre. He said the High Court should have waited for the recommendations of the committee before pronouncing the verdict.

Stipulation

The petitioners said that according to the judgment, no new vehicle could be registered unless it was fitted with a speed governor. The existing registered vehicles were to be fitted with speed governors when they seek renewal of fitness certificate.

A substantial question of law had arisen in the appeals, viz whether the High Court, acting in a public interest litigation, could have substituted its own discretion to that of the Government, and whether the High Court could have issued directions to enforce the provisions of speed governors when the State Government was waiting for the response of the Centre and the technical report from Visvesvaraya Technological University.

Assailing the judgment, the SLPs contended that the High Court had failed to see that the powers in respect of fitment of speed governors “lie with the Central Government by virtue of Section 110 (3) of the Motor Vehicles Act”.

Another important issue that should be considered was whether the High Court could have issued directions without ensuring that sufficient number of speed governors was available in the market or not, they said, and sought quashing of the judgment. Pointing out that irreparable damage would be caused if the impugned judgment was implemented, the petitioners also sought an interim stay of its operation.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

New Delhi