State cannot insist on Speed Governors manufactured by govt empanelled companies: Madras High Court

The Madras High Court recently clarified that the State government cannot mandate that speed limiting devices or speed governors to be fitted in vehicles can be only those manufactured by companies empanelled by the State government (C Sathaiah v. Government of India and ors)..Justice GR Swaminathan ruled that Road Transport officers have to recognise and accept any speed limiting device manufactured by all companies that fulfill the quality requirements set out in Rule 118 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules 1989.."The manufacturer of SLD should conform to the standards set out in Rule 118 and that device should be fitted on the vehicle by a retro-fitting centre (RFC) and that RFC should have been approved in terms of Rule 126 of the Rules. Nowhere in the statute either in the parent statutory provisions or in the Rules framed thereunder, is there any requirement that all the manufacturers should also be empanelled by the State Government," the judge observed..The Court was hearing a plea moved by C Sathaiah, the Vice-President of the State Lorry Owners Federation, Tamil Nadu challenging a communication issued by the State Transport Department, Chepauk. .It was contended that the 2019 communication under challenge mandated that only those speed limiting devices manufactured by the empanelled companies can be fitted in vehicles operating in Tamil Nadu..Apart from perusing the Motor Vehicle Rules, the Court also examined two communications issued by the Union Ministry of Road, Transport and Highways which were issued in 2017 and 2018..On a reading of these communications, the Court found that the State government is free to impose eligibility and price criteria while selecting vendors for the fitting of speed limiting devices on the State's vehicles or vehicles of any State Transport Corporation or local authority under their control. .However, the State cannot insist that the speed governors in all vehicles must be manufactured by emapnelled companies since the statute does not prescribe any such condition, the Court said. ."Since the statute does not prescribe, it is not open to the State Government to insist that SLDs manufactured by the State Government empanelled companies alone will be accepted. Even though I am not interfering with the impugned communication/circular as such, I make it clear that the Road Transport officers shall recognise and accept any SLDs manufactured by those companies that fulfil the requirements set out in Rule 118 of the Rules," the order stated..With this clarification, the case was disposed of. .Advocate VS Karthi appeared for the petitioner. Central Government Standing Counsel P Dharmaraj appeared for the Union government while Additional Advocate General K Chellapandian appeared for the State government. .[Read Order]