Kerala High Court stays Transport Commissioner order on installation of surveillance cameras in private buses
The Hindu
Kerala High court stays Transport Commissioner's order mandating private buses to install surveillance cameras from Nov 1. Petitioner argued order was without legal authority, HC granted interim stay.
The Kerala High Court on November 15, 2023 stayed the Transport Commissioner’s order mandating all private buses to install surveillance cameras from November 1.
Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh passed the interim order on a writ petition filed by K.A Najeeb, secretary, Kerala Bus Transport Association, challenging the order of the Transport Commissioner.
The Transport Commissioner while issuing the order had also directed all the transport officers to ensure that all the private buses were fitted with cameras when they were produced for renewing fitness certificates. The order has stipulated that the cameras should be installed in such a manner that the front and rear sides and inside were visible through them.
The petitioner contended that the Central government had been vested with the power to frame rules relating to the in-built safety equipment. The State government had no power or jurisdiction to insist on surveillance camera installation by private buses. The State government was trying to transgress on the power of the Centre by issuing such orders. Therefore, the order of the Transport Commissioner was without any legal authority, the petitioner argued.
Pakistan coach Gary Kirsten stated that “not so great decision making” contributed to his side’s defeat to India in the Group-A T20 World Cup clash here on Sunday. The batting unit came apart in the chase, after being well placed at 72 for two. With 48 runs needed from eight overs, Pakistan found a way to panic and lose. “Maybe not so great decision making,” Kirsten said at the post-match press conference, when asked to explain the loss.
“We are judges and therefore, cannot act like Mughals of a bygone era ... the writ courts in the guise of doing justice cannot transcend the barriers of law,” the High Court of Karnataka observed while setting aside an order of a single judge, who in 2016 had extended the lease of a public premises allotted to a physically challenged person to 20 years contrary to 12-year period stipulated in the law.