DHANMULL SOWCAR Vs. REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY SALEM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner had a stage carriage permit for his bus, MDJ 1953. On 18-51956, the Motor Vehicles Inspector, South Salem, stopped the vehicle at the 15th mile stone on the Salem-Harur road, and checked it. He then found that the bus was carrying 49 passengers, excluding the driver and the conductor, while its authorised seating capacity was only 40 passengers. The bus was overloaded by 9 passengers. In addition, it was found that 31 baskets of mangoes were being transported by that bus, for which freight charges had been collected at the rate of four annas per basket.

(2.) THE Secretary to the Regional Transport Authority, Salem, called for the explanation of the petitioner in respect of these irregularities. In the explanation which the petitioner submitted, he stated that the allegation that there were 49 passengers was untrue and that the bus carried only 40 passengers. He further mentioned that a constable was travelling in that bus and that the constable should be examined in support of his explanation. He, further pleaded that the charges had been brought against him purposely out of prejudice. So far as the baskets of mangoes were concerned, the explanation of the petitioner was that they constituted the luggage of certain passengers.

(3.) THE Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, rejected the explanation tendered by the petitioner. He considered that there was no need to examine the constable, because, that constable himself had signed the report drawn up by the Motor vehicles Inspector. He rejected the plea that the mangoes constituted the luggage of certain persons, because, not one of the passengers claimed it as his luggage. In the result he suspended tie permit of the petitioner for a period of 3 months for the offence of having overloaded the bus by 9 passengers and for one week for the offence of having carried the baskets of mangoes.