Kerala HC terms bus, lorry strike as illegal

Kochi, Nov 3 (UNI) The kerala high court today termed the five-day-long strike of state carriages, including buses and lorries, as ''per se illegal'' and observed that there cannot be any strike against the order of the Supreme Court, which had directed installation of speed governors in heavy vehicles.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice V K Bali and Justice P R Raman made these observations while hearing a petition filed by Mr K U Paul from Kakkanad, Kochi, seeking to declare the strike as illegal.

When the petition came up before the bench in the morning, the chief justice observed that this was a very serious issue and told the counsel appearing for the bus owners association to withdraw the strike immediately.

The counsel was given a short time to consult his clients. When the hearing was resumed, the counsel informed the court that the bus owners had withdrawn the strike.

The high court observed that there could not be any strke against the judgement of the Supreme Court, which had ordered the installation of speed governers in the state carriages.

The court also said that the operators should try to resolve their dispute by dialogue and through peaceful methods.

It said that the government was at liberty to resort to all measures to put an end to the illegal strike.

Earlier, Advocate General C P Sudhakara Prasad submitted a report regarding the steps being taken by the government against the strike.

The court then observed that it was not correct to say that the government was inactive and was not taking steps to end the strike.

UNI XR ARC1502