Kerala HC strikes down select provisions for licence test-OxBig News Network

The Kerala High Court has struck down a few provisions from a circular that the Transport Commissioner issued in 2024 for conducting the driving licence test in the State.

The provisions include the one that only motorcycles with leg-gear selection and an engine capacity of more than 95 CC ought to be used for the test. The prohibition on the use of vehicles with automatic transmission and electric vehicles for the LMV (light motor vehicle) driving test too was struck down.

The Bench of Justice N Nagaresh went on to uphold some provisions in the circular that had been prescribed for improving the quality of driving. They include the requirement that road tests for two-wheelers should be conducted on roads with traffic. The inclusion in ground rest of light motor vehicles of angular parking, parallel parking, zig-zag driving, and gradient tests and the limiting of the number of driving tests conducted per day by one motor vehicle inspector (MVI) and one assistant MVI to 40. It also upheld the qualifications specified for driving school instructors.

The order was issued following a batch of petitions filed by the All Kerala Motor Driving School, Instructors and Workers Association and others challenging the circular and the subsequent government orders that introduced changes in the conduct of driving licence tests. The petitioners said that as per the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, the power to make rules relating to the licensing and regulation of schools or establishments that imparted instruction in driving motor vehicles vested with the Union government and that the State cannot encroach upon the legislative domain exclusively assigned to the Centre. Upholding the contention, the court said that neither the State government nor the Transport Commissioner cant usurp the powers vested with the Centre in this regard.