Kokrajhar Omni Tourist Vehicles Owners Association v. The State of Assam and 8 Ors

ORDER Date : 08.01.2024

¶1The instant writ petition has been filed by an Association in the name and style of Kokrajhar Omni Tourist Vehicles Owners Association. The grievances of the Petitioner Association are that the vehicles of its members were taken on hire by the various State Authorities however upon the bills being submitted, the said bills have not been cleared by the concerned Respondent Authorities.

¶2The record reveals that an affidavit has been filed on behalf of the Respondent No.7 by the Superintendent of Police, Kokrajhar wherein it has been Page No.# 3/4 mentioned that a part payment of Rs.72,17,443/- have already been made to the owners of respective vehicles and all the bills were submitted to the higher authorities for making payment which are under process. The bills which are under process have also been mentioned in the said enclosure to the affidavit filed by the Respondent No.7 and these bills relates to the Kokrajhar District only. It is the opinion of this Court that if the vehicles of the members of the Petitioner Association were taken on hire, the members of the Petitioner Association would be entitled to hire charges as per the Government rates and depriving the said amount to the members of the Petitioner Association would be arbitrary and unreasonable.

¶4This Court cannot also be unmindful of the fact that the actual entitlement of the members of the Petitioner Association has to be verified by the Respondent Authorities and without a proper verification, no amount can be directed to be paid. Under such circumstances, this Court therefore disposes of the instant writ petition directing the members of the Petitioner Association to submit their individual claims before the concerned Respondent Nos. 3 to 9 along with all the details of the bills. The said Respondents before whom the members of the Petitioner Association shall approach respectively shall verify the entitlement of the members of the Petitioner Association.

¶5This Court cannot also be unmindful of the fact that this verification would take some time and thereupon there would also be requirement of following certain process for the purpose of disbursement of the amount, if found upon verification. This Court therefore directs the concerned Respondent Authorities to complete the entire exercise within a period of 12 months from the date, each of the members of the Petitioner Association approaches the concerned Respondent Authorities with a certified copy of this order. Page No.# 4/4

¶6With above observations and directions, the instant writ petition stands disposed of.

JUDGE Comparing Assistant

PageoNo.#o1/4 GAHC010016362017 ooooooo ooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooTHEoGAUHATIoHIGHoCOURTo (HIGHoCOURToOFoASSAM,oNAGALAND,oMIZORAMoANDoARUNACHALoPRADESH)o CaseoNo.o:oWP(C)/1664/2017o KOKRAJHARoOMNIoTOURISToVEHICLESoOWNERSoASSOCIATIONo AoSOCIETYoREGISTEREDoUNDERoTHEoSOCIETIESoREGISTRATIONoACTo HAVINGoITSoREGISTRATIONoNO.o2655oOFo1988-89,oP.O.-oKOKRAJHAR,o B.T.C.ASSAM,oPIN-o783370,oREP.oBYoITSoSECY.,oSHRIoSUBRATAoSEN,oS/O-oLT.o GOPALoCH.oSEN. VERSUSo THEoSTATEoOFoASSAMoando8oORS.o REP.oBYoTHEoCOMMISSIONERoANDoSECY.oTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM,o TRANSPORToDEPTT.,oDISPUR,oGHY-o6,oASSAM. 2:THEoPRINCIPALoSECY.oTOoTHEoGOVT.oOFoASSAM oTRANSPORToDEPTT. oDISPUR oGHY-o6 oASSAM. 3:THEoDY.oCOMMISSIONER oKOKRAJHAR oDIST.-oKOKRAJHAR oASSAM. 4:THEoDY.oCOMMISSIONER oBONGAIGAON oDIST.-oBONGAIGAON oASSAM. 5:THEoDY.oCOMMISSIONER oCHIRANG oDIST.-oCHIRANG oASSAM. Page No.# 2/4 6:THE DIRECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE ASSAM ULUBARI GHY- 7. 7:THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE KOKRAJHAR DIST.- KOKRAJHAR ASSAM. 8:THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE BONGAIGAON DIST.- BONGAIGAON ASSAM. 9:THE SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE CHIRANG DIST.- CHIRANG ASSAM For the Petitioner(s) : Mr. M. Sarma, Advocate For the Respondent(s) : Mr. S. Baruah, Standing Counsel BEFORE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE DEVASHIS BARUAH