On auto dealers’ plea, Chandigarh Admn put on notice

Chandigarh, February 16

The UT’s Electric Vehicle Policy has come under judicial scanner with the Punjab and Haryana High Court putting the Chandigarh Administration on notice on a petition by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association of India.

Among other things, the federation submitted that it was filing the petition challenging the EV Policy, 2022, introduced by the UT Administrator and being implemented through an impugned press note “setting mandatory limits and capping the sale and registration of the non-electric vehicles in the city”.

The petition was placed before the Bench of Chief Justice Ravi Shanker Jha and Justice Arun Palli. So far, no interim relief/protection has been granted to the petitioner.

Accepting the notice on the Chandigarh Administration’s behalf, senior standing counsel Anil Mehta, with additional standing counsel Sumeet Jain, challenged the plea’s maintainability on the grounds that petitioners were not having locus standi to file the same. No prejudice was being caused to them in the absence of vehicle registration as they were dealers.

Mehta contended that private/commercial interest could not prevail upon public interest. The decision was taken by the Chandigarh Administration in consonance with Article 21, 19(6) & 48-A of the Constitution of India. It was also pleaded that the dealers were made part of a joint meeting held on May 12, 2022. The policy was finalised thereafter.

Describing it as illegal, the petitioner had earlier submitted that it was also arbitrary and violative of the Constitution of India. The petitioner-federation also submitted that the action was in “abhorrence of statutory provisions of law, especially the provisions of The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and The Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1898”.

Giving details, the petitioner added that the Chandigarh Administration issued the policy in collaboration with the Chandigarh Renewable Energy Science and Technology Promotion Society, whereby targets were set for registration of EVs “without any rational nexus with the object sought to be achieved”.