Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Sujit Sil vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 4 September, 2017
Author: Debangsu Basak
Bench: Debangsu Basak
1
4.09.2017
l. No.60
t. No.13
M
WP 16043 (W) of 2017
Sujit Sil
Vs.
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Mr. Chandreyi Alam ... for the petitioner
Mr. Srijan Nayak
Mrs. Rituparna Maitra ... for the respondent no.1 to 6
Mr. Kushal Chatterjee Mr. Surendra Kumar Sharma ... for the added respondent no.7 The petitioner seeks a direction for consideration and disposal of grant of licence for running a hackney carriage with air conditioner.
Learned advocate in support of the writ petition submits that since the application is pending consideration over a period of time, it would be appropriate to consider and decide the same in accordance with law.
On a query from the Court as to whether the air conditioning machine sought to be installed in the hackney carriage would cause pollution or not, learned advocate for the petitioner submits that, such air conditioning machine will be run through a generator which is environmental friendly and would use unleaded petrol for its running.
Learned advocate for the added respondent submits that, the hackney carriages are allowed to ply in a specified area of the city. It is normally in and around the Victoria Memorial. Parking space of hackney carriages is specified. 2 Such parking space is within 100 metres of Victoria Memorial. No motor vehicles are allowed to park there for environmental reasons. If the hackney carriages with air conditioner are allowed to ply at that place, the same would cause pollution and degradation of the Victoria Memorial.
The State is represented.
As noted above, the petitioner seeks disposal of an application for grant of licence to hackney carriage with an air conditioning facility. Hackney carriages are running in and around the vicinity of Victoria Memorial. There are subsisting orders of the Division Bench directing adherence to the pollution control norms so far as Victoria Memorial is concerned. One of such norms is that, there would be number of parking of motor vehicles in and around Victoria Memorial. To have an air conditioned hackney carriage and to allow it ply and park in and around Victoria Memorial will not be prudent from environment and pollution perspective. Therefore, the question of requesting the authority to decide on the grant of licence does not arise.
W.P. 16043 (W) of 2017 is without any merit and the same is dismissed. No order as to costs.
Urgent certified website copies of this order, if applied for, be made available to the parties upon compliance of the requisite formalities.
(Debangsu Basak, J. )