Allahabad High Court
PRIVATE MOTOR OPERATORS UNIONversusUNION OF INDIA AND 3 OTHERS
- Decided
Holding
The Court upheld the interim direction allowing manual fitness certification and disposed of the petition, refusing to quash the impugned order.
Summary
The Private Motor Operators Union challenged a Ministry of Road Transport and Highways order dated 17 November 2025 that required its vehicles to obtain fitness certificates exclusively through an Automated Testing Station (ATS) at Varanasi, alleging it forced vehicles to travel outside permitted routes. The High Court referred to its earlier order dated 13 May 2026 in Writ A No.1792 of 2026, which had made an interim direction allowing vehicles to obtain fitness certificates manually from the RTO in Prayagraj until the State complied with the requirement to establish testing centres within the territorial limits of the Regional Transport Authorities. The Court noted that the State had not yet complied and therefore made the interim direction absolute, continuing until compliance is achieved. Applying the same reasoning, the Court disposed of the present petition without granting the relief sought. Consequently, the order directing exclusive use of the Varanasi ATS was not quashed.
Issues considered
- Whether the directive to obtain fitness certificates solely through the Automated Testing Station at Varanasi is legally valid and enforceable on the petitioners.
- Whether the State has complied with its own directive to establish testing centres within the territorial limits of the Regional Transport Authorities.
- Whether the interim order allowing manual certification can be made absolute pending State compliance.
Subjects
- Automated Testing Station
- fitness certificate
- Regional Transport Office
- interim order
- certiorari
- motor transport regulation
Judgment
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD
WRIT - A No. - 15122 of 2026
Private Motor Operators Union
.....Petitioner(s)
Versus
Union Of India And 3 Others
.....Respondent(s)
Counsel for Petitioner(s) : Ankit Singh Yadav, Anuj Yadav,
Prabhakar Sinha
Counsel for Respondent(s) : A.S.G.I., C.S.C., Pranjal Mehrotra
Court No. - 21
HON'BLE ARINDAM SINHA, J.
HON'BLE SATYA VEER SINGH, J.
1. Mr. Sunil Kumar Singh, learned advocate, holding the brief appears for
petitioner, a private motor operators union. Prayer (i) is reproduced below
:
"(i) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of certiorari quashing
the impugned order dated 17.11.2025 passed by the Ministry of Road
Transport and Highways, Government of India in so far as it directs the
transport vehicles registered under the Regional Transport Office (RTO)
Ghazipur to obtain the certificate of fitness through the Automated
Testing Station (ATS) at District, Varanasi."
Mr. Singh submits, his client's case is covered by our order dated 13th
May, 2026 disposing of Writ - A No.1792 of 2026 (Gulab Singh and 4
Others Vs. Union of India and 3 Others). Mr. Ram Chandra, learned
advocate holding the brief appears for respondent no.1 (UOI). Mr. Piyush
Shukla, learned advocate, Standing Counsel appears for State.
2. Part of paragraph 2 and paragraph 3 from said order dated 13th May,
2026 (supra) are reproduced below.
"2. We had made interim order dated 25th March, 2026 on petitioners'
contention that compliance with the offending direction would require the
vehicle to travel beyond/outside the designated/permitted routes.
Paragraph 5 carrying the interim direction from said order is reproduced
WRIA No. 15122 of 2026
2
below.
"5. List on 8th April, 2026 as fresh. Vehicles of petitioners
requiring renewal of fitness certificate in the meantime, may
get it done from RTO, Prayagraj on manual basis. The RTO,
Prayagraj to act on production of website copy of this
order."
..........
3. We understand that the Centre is trying to streamline the
administration in respect of stage carriage transportation. State is
seeking to comply but has not complied fully. In the circumstances, our
interim direction on said order dated 25th March, 2026 is made absolute,
to operate till such time there has been compliance by State on the
directions made by impugned order dated 17th November, 2025. The
compliance must mean testing centre having become operational within
the territorial limits of the Regional Transport Authorities operating in
the State."
3. Same directions as above are made in this writ petition. It is thus
disposed of.
(Arindam Sinha,J.)
(Satya Veer Singh,J.)
September 28, 2026
Shiv
Digitally signed by :-
SHIV KUMAR SHARMA
High Court of Judicature at Allahabad
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