Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 – Chapter 3

LICENSING OF CONDUCTORS OF STAGE CARRIERS

[26. Licensing authority.–

The Licensing Authority for the purposes of Chapter III of the Act, shall be,–

(a) for Brihan Mumbai, the Regional Transport Officers having jurisdiction over the limits of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation limits;

(b) in the Thane region, for the Districts of Thane, Raigad, Sindhudurg and Ratnagiri the Regional Transport Officer, Thane;

(c) in the Kolhapur region, for the Districts of Kolhapur, Sangli and Satara the Regional Transport Officer, Kolhapur;

(d) in the Pune region, for the Districts of Pune and Solapur the Regional Transport Officer, Pune;

(e) in the Nashik region, for the Districts of Nashik and Ahmednagar the Regional Transport Officer, Nashik;

(f) in the Dhule region, for Districts of Dhule, Jalgoan and Nandurbar the Regional Transport Officer, Dhule;

(g) in the Aurangabad region, for the Districts of Aurangabad, Jalna, Beed and Osmanabad the Regional Transport Officer, Aurangabad;

(h) in the Nanded region, for the Districts of Nanded, Parbhani, Latur and Hingoli the Regional Transport Officer, Nanded;

(i) in the Amravati region, for the Districts of Amravati, Buldhana, Yavatmal, Akola and Washim the Regional Transport Officer, Amravati;

(j) in the Nagpur (City) region, for the Municipal City Limits of Nagpur and Wardha Districts, the Regional Transport Officer, Nagpur (City);

(k) in the Nagpur (Rural) region, for the Districts of Nagpur (excluding Municipal City Limits) Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Gondia and Bhandara the Regional Transport Officer, Nagpur (Rural).]¹

27. When driver or any person can act as conductor without licence.–

(1) Where in an emergency it becomes difficult for the permit-holder to provide for a conductor for his stage carriage, or where a conductor on duty, for reason beyond his control, cannot perform his duties, the driver of a stagecarriage may for a period not exceeding one month, act as a conductor of a stage carriage without holding a conductor’s licence under sub-section (1) of Section 29.

(2) Any person, other than a driver of a stage carriage may act as a conductor without holding a conductor’s licence, for a period not exceeding one month, subject to the following conditions, namely:–

(a) he intimates his intention to do so to the licensing authority within whose jurisdiction he intends to act as a conductor in Form L. Con. Int. of the First Schedule to these rules;

(b) he is not disqualified for holding a conductor’slicence;

(c) he has not on previous occasions acted as a conductor without a licence for a total period exceeding one month.

28. Application for grant of conductor’s licence.–

(1) An application for a conductor’s licence as required by sub-section (1) of Section 30 shall be made in Form L. Con. A of the First Schedule to these rules and shall be accompanied by a medical certificate from a Medical Practitioner authorised by the Transport Commissioner to issue such certificate, in Form M.C. Con. of the First Schedule to these rules and the fees provided under sub- section (5) of Section 30.

(2) Upon the receipt of an application for a conductor’s licence, the licensing authority on making such enquiries as may reasonably be necessary to establish the identity of the applicant and on ascertaining that the applicant is not disqualified under Section 31 of the Act for holding or obtaining a conductor’s licence, may issue such licence in Form L. Con. of the First Schedule to these rules for a period of three years.

29. Qualification for grant of conductor’s licence.–

No person shall be granted a conductor’s licence unless he satisfies thelicensing authority that,–

(i) he has adequate knowledge of the provisions of the Act and rules made thereunder relating to the duties and functions of a conductor;

(ii) he possesses a good moral character; and

(iii) he has passed Secondary School Certificate examination or an equivalent or higher examination and possesses working knowledge of the language or languages of the area in which he intends to work as a conductor:

Provided that, clause (iii) shall not apply to persons who have obtained conductor’s licence before the date of coming into force of the Maharashtra Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

30. Change of residence.–

The holder of a conductor’s licence shall, except in the case of a temporary absence not involving a change of residence for a period exceeding three months, report any change of his temporary or permanent address as notified on the licence to the licensing authority by whom the licence was last renewed.

31. Renewal of conductor’s licence.–

(1) An application for the renewal of a conductor’s licence shall be made in Form L. Con. R. of the First Schedule to these rules and shall be accompanied by conductor’s licence, and the fees provided for in sub-section (5) of Section 30.

(2) Upon receipt of an application for the renewal of a conductor’s licence, the licensing authority may, after making such enquiries as it may deem necessary, renew the licence.

(3) A licensing authority renewing conductor’s licence shall intimate the fact of renewal in Form L. Con. RR. of the First Schedule to these rules to the licensing authority by whom the licence was issued.

32. Appellate Authority.–

(1) The authority empowered under subsection (2) of Section 33 and under sub-section (4) of Section 34 to hear appeals against the order of the licensing authority shall, in Greater Bombay, be the Transport Commissioner and elsewhere, the District Magistrate of the district in which the aggrieved person ordinarily resides.

33. Conduct and hearing of appeals.–

(1) An appeal under Rule 32 shall be preferred in duplicate in the form of a memorandum, setting forth concisely the grounds of objection to the order of the licensing authority, and shall be accompanied by a fee of twenty rupees in cash and a certified copy of that order.

(2) When an appeal is preferred, a notice shall be issued to the authority against whose order the appeal is preferred in such form as the appellate authority may direct.

(3) The appellate authority may give to the parties copies of any document connected with the appeal, on payment of fee (calculated at the rate of [fifteen]² rupees for the first page and [three]³ rupees for each additional page of each copy) of each document.

(4) The appellate authority may, after giving an opportunity to the parties to be heard and after such further enquiry, if any, as it may deem necessary, pass such order as it thinks fit and an order passed by any such authority shall binding on the parties.

34. Duties and conduct of conductors of stage carriage.–

The conductor of a stage carriage,–

(i) shall, as far as may be reasonably possible, having regard to hisduties, be responsible for the due observance of the provisions of the Act and of these rules;

(ii) shall not smoke while on duty;

(iii) shall behave in a civil and orderly manner to passengers and others;

(iv) shall be cleanly dressed and shall wear khaki shirt or khaki bush-shirt and khaki trousers of police pattern of khaki colour:

Provided that, nothing in this clause shall apply to persons lawfully working as conductors in accordance with Rule 27:

[Provided further that, the State Government on considering any special reasons may, by order in the Official Gazette, allow conductors of such vehicles to wear any special uniform as may be specified in such order, other than the uniform specified in this clause.]⁴

(v) shall maintain the vehicle in a clean an sanitary condition;

(vi) shall not solicit customers save in a civil and quiet manner;

(vii) shall not interfere with persons mounting or preparing to mount upon any other vehicle;

(viii) shall not allow any person to be carried in any stage carriage in excess of the seating capacity specified in the certificate of registration of the vehicle and any additional number of passengers permitted under the terms of the permit to be carried standing in the vehicle;

(ix) shall not, save for good and sufficient reason, refuse to carry any person tendering the legal fare;

(x) shall not allow any passenger to be carried in any stage carriage without payment of the legal fare;

(xi) shall where goods are carried on a vehicle in addition to passengers, take all reasonable precautions to ensure that passengers are not endangered or unduly inconvenienced by the presence of goods;

(xii) shall not, save for good and sufficient reason, require any person who has paid the legal fare to alight from the vehicle before the conclusion of the journey;

(xiii) shall not loiter or unduly delay upon any journey but shall proceed to his destination as near as may be in accordance with the time-table, with all reasonable despatch;

(xiv) shall, in the event of the vehicle being unable to proceed to its destination on account of mechanical breakdown or other causes beyond the control of the driver or conductor, arrange to convey the passengers to their destination in some other similar vehicle, or if unable so to arrange within a reasonable period after the failure of the vehicle, shall on demand refund to each passenger a proper proportion of the fare relating to the completion of the journey for which the passenger had paid the fare;

(xv) shall not cause or allow anything to be placed in the vehicle in such a manner as to obstruct the entry or exit of passengers;

(xvi) shall issue a ticket immediately on payment of the legal fare or freight by the passenger except where arrangements outside the vehicle for the issue of tickets in advance to the intending passengers on payment of the legal fare has been made;

(xvii) shall, at the conclusion of any journey make reasonable search in the vehicle for anything left by any passenger and shall take into his custody anything so found by him or any other person in such vehicle and as soon as may be, make over the same to a responsible person at any office or station of the holder of the permit for the vehicle;

(xviii) shall not cause or allow to enter into or to be placed or carried in the vehicle any person whom he knows or has reason to believe to be suffering from an infectious or contagious disease, or the corpse of any person whom he knows or has reason to believe to have been suffering from any such disease;

(xix) may, notwithstanding anything contained in clause (xviii) upon application in writing by a registered medical practitioner allow a person, suffering from an infectious or contagious disease to be carried in a stage carriage provided that no other person save a person or persons in attendance on the sick person shall be carried in the vehicle at the same time;

(xx) shall be responsible, when a person suffering from an infectious or contagious disease, or the corpse of any such person has been carried in a stage carriage, for reporting the fact to a medical officer or health officer and to the owner of the vehicle and neither the owner nor the driver nor the conductor shall cause or allow any person to use the vehicle until the driver and conductor and the vehicle have been disinfected in such manner as the said medical officer may specify and certificate to this effect has been obtained from the said medical officer;

(xxi) shall assist the driver and be on the look out for other motor vehicle approaching from behind and effectively signal their approach to the driver;

(xxii) shall take all reasonable precautions to prevent luggage being miscarried or lost on the way;

(xxiii) shall not, while on duty, be under the influence of drink or of any drug so as to render him incapable of discharging his duties efficiently;

(xxiv) shall, on demand by any passenger, produce the complaint book for recording such remarks as the passenger may desire to make therein;

(xxv) shall not, while he is on duty, permit the vehicle to be used for illegal or immoral purpose;

(xxvi) shall not permit any petrol to be poured into the fuel tank while the engine is in motion; and

(xxvii) shall, whenever the stage carriage approaches an unguarded level crossing, cause it to be stopped and after alighting therefrom and ensuring that no train is approaching from either direction, cause thevehicle to follow him till the other side of the level crossing is reached;

(xxviii) shall make all reasonable effort to help the injured persons in case of an accident to the bus and inform the nearest police station immediately;

(xxix) shall help the infant, disabled, pregnant ladies, old aged passengers and the ladies with child in arm, to board and alight the bus;

(xxx) when the driver is taking the bus in reverse, shall get down from the bus and be on the look out for any other motor vehicle or other obstacle in the rear of the vehicle and effectively give signal to the driver;

(xxxi) shall not allow any explosives or dangerous or flammable substances to be carried in the bus as personal luggage or cargo; [Provided that he shall cause the personal luggage or cargo, suspected to be containing substances of dangerous or flammable nature or explosives, to be inspected under the supervision of the Officer or Stand-in-charge of Bus Station of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation or any Police Officer in uniform or any officer of the Motor Vehicles Department not below the rank of Assistant Inspector of Motor Vehicles]⁵.

35. Prohibition against holding more than one conductor’s licence, etc.–

(1) No person shall hold more than one conductor’s licence.

(2) A conductor of a stage carriage shall, produce his conductor’s licence for inspection on demand by any Police Officer in uniform not below the rank of a Sub-Inspector, or any officer of Motor Vehicles Department not below the rank of Assistant Inspector of Motor Vehicles in uniform or any member of the State Transport Authority or a Regional Transport Authority, within his respective jurisdiction, provided that, if at the time his licence is demanded he isdisplaying the badge prescribed in Rule 40, it shall be sufficient compliance with this sub-rule if he produces the conductor’s licence within forty-eight hours at any police station which he specifies to the person making such demand.

36. Requirement as to photograph.–

(1) The copies of photographs required for a conductor’s licence shall be of a size not more than fifty millimetres by sixty four millimetres. It shall be taken from front, and shall be in black and white colour on glazed paper.

(2) The photograph of the holder when affixed to a conductor’s licence shall be sealed with the seal of the licensing authority in such a manner that part of the impression of the seal is upon the photograph and part on the margin.

(3) If at any time it appears to a licensing authority that the photograph affixed to the conductor’s licence has ceased to be a clear likeness of the holder, the licensing authority may require the holder to surrender the conductor’s licence forthwith, and to furnish two clear copies of a recent photograph of himself and the holder shall, within such time as the licensing authority may specify, appear in person before the licensing authority and present the photograph accordingly.

(4) Upon receipt of the copies of the photograph as provided in sub-rule (3), the licensing authority shall remove the old photograph from the conductor’s licence and seal thereto one copy of the new photograph and return the conductor’s licence to the applicant and shall, if he is not the licensing authority by whom the conductor’s licence was issued, forward the second copy of the photograph to the authority who issued the licence: Provided that, if the holder of the conductor’s licence so desires the licensing authority shall issue a duplicate conductor’s licence with a new photograph affixed thereto and shall destroy the original conductor’s licence. In such a case if the licensing authority is not the authority by whom the conductor’s licence was issued, he shall inform the original licensing authority.

(5) If the holder fails to comply with any requisition made by the licensing authority under sub-rule (3), the conductor’s licence shall cease to be valid from the expiry of the said period.

(6) Where a new photograph is affixed to a conductor’s licence, a note shall be made upon the date of affixture.

37. Conductor’s licence lost or destroyed.–

(1) If at any time a conductor’s licence is lost by the holder or is destroyed, the holder shall forthwith intimate the facts in writing, in Form CLD of the First Schedule to the licensing authority in whose area he has his place of residence at the time.

(2) Upon the receipt of intimation as aforesaid, the licensing authority shall, if he is not the authority by whom the conductor’s licence was issued, apply to that authority for particulars of the conductor’s licence and of any endorsements thereon and shall, after making such enquiries as he thinks fit, is satisfied that a duplicate may properly, be issued, issue a duplicate conductor’s licence and send intimation to the authority by whom the conductor’s licence was issued: Provided that, where subsequent to the issue of a duplicate licence it is found that there has been an endorsement by a Court since the date of the grant or last renewal of the licence, it shall be lawful for the licensing authority to call for the duplicate conductor’s licence and make the necessary endorsement thereon.

(3) Where a photograph is required to be affixed to a duplicate conductor’s licence issued under the provisions of these rules, the holder of the conductor’s licence shall furnish the licensing authority with two clear copies of a recent photograph of himself one of which shall be affixed to the duplicate conductor’s licence and the other shall be transmitted by the authority issuing the duplicate conductor’s licence to the authority by whom the conductor’s licence was issued.

(4) Where a duplicate conductor’s licence has been issued upon representationthat a conductor’s licence has been lost and the original conductor’s licence is afterwards found or received by the holder, the holder shall immediately return the duplicate conductor’s licence to the licensing authority

(5) Any other person finding a conductor’s licence shall deliver it to the nearest Police Station or the nearest licensing authority The Officer-in-charge of the Police Station, on receipt of the conductor’s licence, shall immediately forward it to the nearest licensing authority. The licensing authority shall restore the conductor’s licence to the holder of the conductor’s licence in case the duplicate conductor’s licence has not been issued, and shall substitute it for the duplicate in case such a duplicate has already been issued.

38. Defaced or torn conductor’s licence.–

(1) If at any time it appears to a licensing authority that a conductor’s licence held by any person is so torn or defaced in any way as to cease to be reasonably legible, the licensing authority may impound the conductor’s licence and issue a duplicate in accordance with Rule 39.

(2) If a conductor’s licence impounded as aforesaid is required to have a photograph of the holder affixed there, then,–

(i) if the photograph on the impounded conductor’s licence in the

opinion of the licensing authority satisfactory and conveniently transferable to the duplicate conductor’s licence, the licensing authority may so transfer, affix and seal the photograph to the duplicate conductor’s licence; or

(ii) if the photograph affixed to a conductor’s licence impounded under the provisions of sub-rule (1) is not in the opinion of the licensing authority such as can be transferred to the duplicate conductor’s licence the holder of the conductor’s licence shall, on demand by the licensing authority, furnish two clear copies of a recent photograph of himself one of which shall be affixed to the duplicate conductor’s licence and sealed and the other shall be recorded by the licensing authority by whom the conductor’s licence was issued.

39. Issue of duplicate of conductor’s licence.–

(1) When a duplicate conductor’s licence is issued under Rules 36, 37 and 38 it shall be clearly stamped “Duplicate” in red and shall be marked with the date of issue, he shall intimate the fact to that authority.

(2) If the licensing authority who affixes a new photograph to a duplicate conductor’s licence is not the authority by whom the conductor’s licence was issued, he shall forward the second copy of the photograph to that authority for record.

(3) The fee for a duplicate conductor’s licence under Rules 36, 37 and 38 shall be [One hundred and fifty Rupees]⁶.

40. Conductor’s badge.–

(1) The licensing authority issuing a conductor’s licence shall also issue simultaneously on payment of a fee of [one hundred and fifty rupees]⁷ a metal badge inscribed with its name, the word “Conductor” and an identification number, in the form illustrated in the Second Schedule appended to these rules. If the badge is lost or destroyed, a duplicate badge shall be issued on payment of twenty rupees by the authority which issued it or an application made to in Form D.C.B. of the First Schedule. In case the original badge is later found by the conductor, he shall return the duplicate badge to the issuing authority, and shall be entitled to a refund of ten rupees.

(2) While on duty a conductor shall display his badge on his left chest and above the badge a plastic name plate indicating his initials and surname in Marathi. The plastic name plate shall be of the size of 9 cm. x 2 cm.

(3) No conductor shall lend or transfer to any other person, or permit the use by any other person of the badge issued to him under sub-rule (1).

(4) If at any time a conductor’s licence is suspended or revoked by an authority competent to suspend or revoke or by any Court or ceases to be valid by efflux of time, the conductor shall, within seven days, of suchsuspension, revocation or ceaser, surrender the badge to the authority by which it was issued.

41. The effectiveness of conductor’s licence issued by any other State other than the State of Maharashtra.–

(1) The permit-holder of the stage carriage shall not employ a person as a conductor having a conductor’s licence issued by any licensing authority located outside the State of Maharashtra.

(2) A person can act as a conductor having a conductor’s licence issued in any other State in respect of stage carriage operation in the State of Maharashtra on the routes included in the reciprocal Transport Agreement as well as on the routes mutually agreed by both the State Transport Undertaking, with the intention to include the same in the subsequent Reciprocal Transport Agreement but shall comply with the provisions of Rule 84.