Omni buses cannot fix and collect fare from individual passengers, ruled Madras High Court in 2016 but matter now in SC

using contract carriage permits, fix and collect the fare from individual passengers? No, said a Division Bench (comprising two judges) of the Madras High Court way back in 2016. However, the Supreme Court had stayed the High Court’s verdict on February 3, 2017 following an appeal preferred by the Tamil Nadu government. Since then, the matter remains in limbo with the State appeal continuing to remain pending till date without passing final orders even after six years.

Can private buses, popularly known as omni buses, which ply both inter-State and intra-State services using contract carriage permits, fix and collect the fare from individual passengers? No, said a Division Bench (comprising two judges) of the Madras High Court way back in 2016.

However, the Supreme Court had stayed the High Court’s verdict on February 3, 2017 following an appeal preferred by the Tamil Nadu government. Since then, the matter remains in limbo with the State appeal continuing to remain pending till date without passing final orders even after six years.

During the Deepavali season in 2016, a Division Bench of Justices S. Nagamuthu (since retired) and M.V. Muralidaran (now Acting Chief Justice of Manipur High Court) had taken up a suo motu public interest litigation petition on the basis of a news report in a Tamil daily regarding complaints of exorbitant fares demanded by omni bus operators.

After hearing then Advocate General R. Muthukumarasamy (since dead) for the State government and the Tamil Nadu Omni Bus Owners’ Association, the Bench pointed out that the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, provides for issuance of either ‘stage carriage’ or ‘contract carriage’ permits to commercial passenger vehicles.

Stage carriage permits were issued to vehicles such as government buses and share autorickshaws which were entitled to board or deboard passengers en route while plying between two places. On the other hand, the contract carriage permits do not allow such boarding or deboarding en route.

As per law, the omni buses and regular autorickshaws, holding the contract carriage permits, could be engaged only on contract, by the permitted capacity of passengers, for a point to point travel. In other words, a group of people travelling from one place to another could engage an entire bus on contract.

Unfortunately, either “in ignorance of the law or pretending to be ignorant, the authorities in this State have allowed the contract carriage operators to commit illegality by collecting exorbitant individual fares with impunity. Virtually, the illegality has been allowed to be perpetuated,” the Bench wrote.