SUBHASH CHANDRA AND ORS. versus STATE OF U.P. AND ORS. on 12 February 1980

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SUBHASH CHANDRA A."lD ORS.

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STATE OF U.P. AND ORS. February 12, 1980 [V. R KRISHNA !YER AND D. A. DESAI, JJ.J

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1Posedly striking a nate conlrary to the judgment un<ler attack but feel free-why, bound-to dismiss th' petition for special leave not merely ·because the High Court is right but because justice to the travelling public-a lost cause 011 our made roads-conscientises to that course.

Tersely put, the petitioner is the grantee of permits to ply mini-buses as contract carriages and in the grant a condition has . been fastened that the vehicle shall not be more than seven years old. Condition No. 18, relating to Mini-Buses Contract Carriage permits, .and the source of power, s. 51 (2 )(x) read thus :

That the vehicle covered by the permit shall be not more than fO'ur years old counted from the date of registration at any time during \he validity of the permit.

51 (2) The Regional Transport Authority, if it decides to grant a contract carriage permit, may, subject to any rules that may be made under this Act, attach to the permit any one or more of the following conditions, namely :- •

(x) any other conditions which may be prnscribed. Section 51 (2) (x) any other.

"Four years' have been relaxed to seven years since September 23, 1978, the beneficiaries being the bus owners and the potential victims being the unknown casualties who have no 'poor lobby' power. The State must remember that it has responsibilities not merely to mini-bus owners, but also to avoid the daily tragedies on the Indian high ways under the lethal wheels of these whirling carriages. Section 51 (2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, is geared to public safety, not private profit and casts a solemn duty not to be deterred by any pressure ex-cept the pressure of social justice to India'n lives moving in buses, walk-ing on roads or even standing on margins. If the top killer-road .accident-is to be awarded death sentence, s. 51 and like provisions mnst receive severe enforcement. In this spirit--although backtrack-ing from 4-year·old models to 7-year-old models-the state imposed -condition 18. This was challenged artfully but unsuccessfully before. the High Court and is attacked before us as ultra vires s. 51 (2) of the Act. We will examine briefly the submission to reach the conclusion that mere lexical legalism cannot sterilise the sensible humanism writ large on s. 51 (2) (x). If Indian life is not ultra vires Indian Jaw every condition to save life and limb is intra vires such salvationary provision. This perspective of social justice simplifies the problem and upholds the High Court.

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Section 51 (2)'(x) anthorises the impost of any condition, of course, having a nexus with the statutory purpose. It is undeniable that human safety is Olle sucli purpose. The State's neglect in this area of policing I\.

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public transport is deplorable but when it does act by prescribing a condition the court cannot be persuaded into little legalism and harmful' negativism. The short question is whether the prescription that the bus shall be at a seven-year old model one is relevant to the condition of the vehicle and i\s passengers' comparative safety and comfort on our chaotic highways. Obviously, it is. The older the model, the less the chances of the latest safety measures being built into the vehicle. Every new model incorporates new devices to reduce danger and promote comfort. Every new model assures its age to be young, fresh and strong, less likely to suffer sudden failures and breakages, less suscepti-ble to wear and tear and moral fatigue leading to unexpected collapse. When we buy a car or any other machine why do we look for the latest model ? Vintage vehicles are good for centenarian display of curios and cannot but be mobile menaces on our notoriously neglected high-ways. We have no hesitation to hold, from the point of view of the human rights of road users, that the condition regarding the model of the permitted bus is within jurisdiction, and not to prescribe s11ch safety clauses is abdication of statutory duty.

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Two decisions-Masi Ullah v. State Tribunal Appellate(') and· In re: Ramesh Chandra Tewari etc.(') were cited as striking a con-· trary note. The first deals withs. 48(3) of the Act and prescription of the model or year of the make was held ultra vires because, lexically read, it was held that the expression specified description in s. 48(3) did not cover, according to dictionaries, the year of manufacture of the vehicle. We extract Black's Law Dictionary on 'description' to show how the model of a vehicle is obviously a facet of its description .. 'Description' means : (")

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A delineation or account of a particular subject by the F recital of its characteristic accidents and qualities.

So, dictionary versus dictionary leaves the matter at large, apart from· the plain function of the court to gather the meaning, not nnder the dictatorship of dictionaries but guided by the statutory purpose with- . out being deflected by logamachic exercises, the mischief to be count-G ered and the public interest to be advanced. We are clear that a later model is a better safeguard and, more relevantly to the point, the year of the make and the particulars of the model are part of the descrip-tion.

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