Kathmandu. The Supreme Court (SC) has ruled in favour of the truck entrepreneurs in response to a writ petition filed by the federal government and the Bagmati Province government in course of implementing the provision related to route permit of public goods trucks.

A division bench of Justices Sapana Pradhan Malla and Nityananda Pandey issued the writ petition on June 29.

Rajendra Bikram Baniya, president of Federation of Truck Transport Entrepreneurs of Nepal, had filed a writ petition on August 14, 2080 naming the Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers, Department of Transport Management and other seven bodies as defendants.

The writ petitioners argued that the traffic police fined, impounded the goods vehicles and forced them to attend traffic awareness classes in the name of inter-state route permit despite the validity period of the route permit was against the law.

Earlier, during the preliminary hearing of the case, a single bench of Justice Prakash Kumar Dhungana had issued an interim order on August 23, 2080 directing the Department of Transport Management not to implement the directive issued by the Department of Transport Management on May 21, 2080.

The court had issued an interim order on the basis of the principle of convenience and balance, saying that prima facie it was not justified to take action against the goods carrier vehicle with valid route permit.

After a long hearing, the joint bench finally issued a writ petition and accepted the legal question raised by the truck entrepreneurs. Following the verdict, FNCCI President Rajendra Bikram Baniya said that the decision of the Supreme Court has protected the rule of law and rights of entrepreneurs. He said that the court’s verdict is important to end the unjust and double standard that has been implemented in the name of route permit for many years.

“We are not asking for any special facilities, we are just seeking protection of the rights given by the law. This decision of the Supreme Court is a victory for all freight transport entrepreneurs. This has also sent a clear message to the government to treat the government in a lawful and equitable manner,” Baniya said.

He said that effective debate in favor of entrepreneurs would contribute to the delivery of justice. On behalf of the FNJ, the FNJ expressed gratitude to senior advocate Narahari Acharya and senior advocate Uddhav Prasad Chaulagain.

According to the federation, this decision of the Supreme Court has prepared a legal basis to stop the dual administrative action against goods vehicles by ending the policy confusion regarding route permit. The federation expects the concerned bodies of the government to implement the provision related to route permit as per the court’s verdict.