Decks were cleared for cancellation of illegal permits of private transport operators and implementation of the new transport scheme in Punjab. The Punjab and Haryana High Court division bench on Wednesday stayed the Single Judge orders quashing the State Government’s notices to these transporters.
A total of 650 show cause notices were issued to the private transporters for cancellation of their illegal permits on the directives of Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh. However, the transporters had approached the High Court and a Single Judge had quashed the notices on May 23, 2018.
The State Government had sought to cancel the permits in order to implement its New Transport Scheme, re-formulated in conformity with the previous judgment of the High Court in the case of Vijayant Travels and in a bid to clean out the transport system in the State.
Defending the State Government’s action and policy, the state Additional Advocate General Rameeza Hakeem brought to the notice of the Court that this matter stood referred as the Division Bench was already monitoring the implementation of the Judgment in Vijayant Travels, which had subsequently been upheld by the Supreme Court.
Reacting strongly to the quashing of such show cause notices by the Single Bench, the Division Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant remarked, “Our observations in Vijayant Travels were completely ignored by the Single Judge. We want to break this transport mafia and we want to have clean and new players to enter the transport field in Punjab.”
Further, directions were passed that all writ petitions or proceedings relating to the implementation of the Vijayant Travels judgment be listed after taking orders of the Chief Justice. The next date of hearing in the matter is August 23, 2018.