HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA WRIT PETITION No. 21237 OF 2010. DATED 22nd December, 2010 BETWEEN T.TuljaSingh Thakur …Petitioner and The Deputy Transport Commissioner & Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, Warangal. And ors ….Respondents. HONOURABLE SRI JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA WRIT PETITION No. 21237 OF 2010. ORDER: The petitioner has prayed that a direction be issued to the respondents to release his driving licence forthwith. Brief facts of the case are that, the petitioner has applied for issuance of driving licence in the year 1989 by enclosing SSC certificate to show that his date of birth as 17.12.1971. After necessary tests, the same was issued on 18.4.1989. There after, the driving licence of the petitioner was renewed more than six times. In the meantime, the petitioner also obtained Heavy Goods Vehicles driving licence and Heavy Passengers Vehicles driving licence. It is stated that the petitioner applied to the A.P.P.S.C. for selection to the post of Assistant Motor Vehicle Inspector and he qualified in the written test and interview of the said post was scheduled to be held in the month of September, 2010. Be that as it may, the first respondent issued show cause notice dated 30.07.2010 stating that the petitioner had obtained licence when he was below eighteen years, which is contrary to the provisions of the M.V.Act and therefore, the petitioner was asked as to why his driving licence should not be cancelled. To the said notice, the petitioner has submitted his explanation. However, the first respondent vide his order dated 17.08.2010 cancelled the driving licence of the petitioner. Hence, the petitioner preferred the present Writ petition aggrieved by the action of the first respondent. The learned Counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was driving the vehicles from the date of issuance of driving licence by the respondent authorities and the said driving licence was renewed six times and that the respondents never raised any objection at the time of renewal of said driving licence. It is contended that once the respondents have renewed the driving licence on six occasions, therefore, by their conduct, they have relaxed the condition of under age for obtaining licence in the case of the petitioner. Learned Counsel for the respondents submits that at the time of issuance of licence, the petitioner had not completed the age of eighteen years and therefore issuance of licence to the petitioner is bad in law and subsequent renewals could not make the driving licence issued to the petitioner valid. After hearing the learned Counsel for the parties, I find that the petitioner has been driving the vehicles since the date of issuance of driving licence on 18.4.1989, i.e. for the last more than 21 years. His driving licence was also renewed more than six times. In the interregnum period, the petitioner has also obtained Heavy Goods Vehicles driving licence and Heavy Passengers Vehicles driving licence. Thus it shows that the petitioner is a qualified driver. Hence, his licence is not liable to be cancelled at this stage. Therefore, the order dated 17.08.2010 cancelling the licence of the petitioner is not sustained. The respondents having renewed the licence of the petitioner on several occasions, now cannot take stand that the driving licence was wrongly issued to the petitioner. The fact that the issuance of heavy goods vehicles driving licence and heavy passengers vehicles driving licence to the petitioner itself shows that the petitioner is a qualified driver. In view of the foregoing discussion, the impugned order dated 17.08.2010 cancelling the driving licence of the petitioner is set aside and the respondent authorities are directed to release the driving licence of the petitioner forthwith. The Writ Petition is allowed. There shall be no order as to costs. --------------------------------------------- JUSTICE ASHUTOSH MOHUNTA Dated 22nd December, 2010. Note: CC by tomorrow. (BO)Msnro