Banning Piaggio would be discriminatory, says HC
The High Court of Karnataka came to the rescue of Italian three-wheeler-maker Piaggio and quashed orders that banned the registration of these vehicles by the regional transport office (RTO). The RTO in Gadag had stopped registration of these vehicles on the grounds of misuse by overloading.
The technical grounds on which the RTO took the decision was that the overhang (the length behind the rear wheels) of the vehicle was over 450 mm. The HC, however, said the RTO didn’t have the authority to stop registration on these grounds.
Ms Chalukya Motors Pvt Ltd, a dealer of Piaggio vehicles in Gadag approached the HC after the transport department issued the order in September 2013. The petitioner contended that the vehicles had necessary approval from the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI) as mandated by the Central Motor Vehicles Rules and the RTO had no say in such things.
Piaggio, the manufacturer, had sought from the transport commissioner, Karnataka, to approve the registration of its vehicles after enclosing all necessary documents.
The permission came in May 2010. But in 2013, the RTO in Gadag mentioned the ‘450 mm overhang’ to stop registration. The dealer had approached the tribunal, which had also upheld the RTO order.
In the HC, it was contended by the dealer that there was no law or rule which mentions about the ‘450 mm’ limit. According to the CMV rules, the overhang should not exceed 60 per cent of the wheel base. In Piaggio’s case it was only 40 per cent.
The RTO claimed the decision to stop registration was taken because there was “large-scale misuse whereby the said vehicles in particular are routinely over-loaded”. As many as 256 cases were registered against Piaggio vehicles involving such violations. Such prolific misuse of these vehicles, which endangered life, was the reason the registration was banned.
The HC said the manufacture of the vehicle was duly certified by competent authority (ARAI), and the RTO had no jurisdiction in the matter. The HC said that it would be discriminatory to stop only Piaggio vehicles when similar vehicles were also overloaded. The RTO order were quashed.
