Staff Reporter
Guwahati: In a major relief for hundreds of rickshaw operators, the Gauhati High Court has set aside a 2022 order of the Guwahati Municipal Corporation (GMC) that directed removal of electric motors from retrofitted rickshaws.
The order was issued in a case challenging an order issued by the Commissioner, GMC, dated December 28, 2022, whereby the Commissioner, GMC, directed all owners of motorised rickshaws to remove the motors within 7 (seven) days from the date of issuance of the said order, failing which appropriate action would be initiated as per the Act/by-laws.
In a judgement issued today, the High Court held that the GMC order cannot be sustained in law and quashed it.
The petitioner argues that the GMC does not have the power to issue such an order because the rickshaws with electric motors fall under Rule 2(u) of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989. However, from the stand taken by the Transport Department, it appears that these rickshaws retrofitted with electric motors would not come within the ambit of a motor vehicle inasmuch as they do not fit the definition of "e-rickshaw" as defined in Rule 2(cb) of the Rules of 1989 or "battery-operated vehicle" as defined in Rule 2(u) of the said Rules.
The Court clarified that GMC can still levy and collect taxes, fees, or other lawful revenue from such rickshaws under applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
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