High Court Strikes Down UP's SOP for Driving Schools

The Allahabad High Court ruled that the UP government's SOP for motor driving schools exceeded its authority. Section 27 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules grants the central government exclusive power for licensing and regulation. The court invalidated the SOP, highlighting jurisdictional limits.

The Allahabad High Court has invalidated the Uttar Pradesh government's order establishing Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for motor driving training schools, declaring it exceeded the state's authority. According to the court, only the central government has the power to regulate licensing and operations under Section 27 of Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.

The decision came as a result of a writ petition filed by the UP Motor Training School Owners Association and others. They argued that the UP government's directive was beyond its legal jurisdiction. The court, with Justices Anjani Kumar Mishra and Jayant Banerji, supported this viewpoint, striking down the disputed government order.

The ruling emphasized that Section 28 of the Act restricts state governments from formulating rules in areas where the central government holds jurisdiction. KM Bajpai, President of UP Motor Training School Owners Association, welcomed the judgment, urging the state to consider the schools' interests in future decisions.

(With inputs from agencies.)