HC asks transport department secretary to submit affidavit as Robin bus owner files contempt case

The Kerala High Court accepted the contempt of court petition filed by Robin bus (Robin Travels) owner K Kishore stating that the continual inspections and seizure of the bus by the Motor Vehicles Department (MVD) made it difficult to run the service. 

The court directed the secretary of the transport department to file an affidavit regarding this. The petition is being considered by a bench comprising Justice Dinesh Kumar Singh and will be heard again on January 22.

The petitioner approached the HC alleging that the MVD officials are still a thorn in the bus’s path even as a favourable order was issued by the court. The MVD has imposed fines several times on this service. The bus was impounded recently due to the non-payment of fines. 

The MVD and the Robin bus service have been at loggerheads for a while now. MVD officials also point out that the recent Kerala High Court ruling only allowed Robin Bus to conduct trips with pre-booked passengers. The All India Tourist Permit rules stipulate that vehicles pick up passengers from a specific place and drop them off at another spot. However, it was argued that interstate buses operate as stage carriers by enabling passengers to board at random locations.

Kerala HC's other ruling said that vehicles with All India Tourist Permit cannot operate as stage carriages. The order was deemed a massive setback for vehicles, such as the bus operated by Robin Travels, that conduct inter-state services under the guise of an All India Tourist Permit.