P.Lakshmanan v. The Commercial Clerk

ORDER This is a petition filed by the petitioner seeking a direction to the second respondent to consider the petitioner's representation dated

16.3.2026 to cancel the auto passes issued.

¶2Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned Standing Counsel accepting notice for respondents 1 and 2 and the learned Government Advocate (Crl. Side) accepting notice for respondents 3 and

4.

¶3The case of the petitioner is as follows:

(i) The petitioner claims to be an auto driver. He is driving the auto rickshaw in and around Tiruvallur Railway Station for more than 25 Page3 of 7 years. He is also a member of an auto drivers association at Tiruvallur Railway Station. In order to access Tiruvallur Railway Station for trips, persons like the petitioner are required to have an entry pass issued by the second respondent upon submission of an application along with requisite documents.

(ii) The auto drivers association, in which, the petitioner is associated, is having 32 members and the members are regularly paying rental charges per person every six months towards parking of the auto rickshaws. That being so, one Mr.M.R.Magesh Kumar filed an application under the Right to Information Act seeking certain information regarding the nature of the entry passes issued at Tiruvallur Railway Station. Pursuant to that, a reply was given by the second respondent vide communication dated 11.3.2019 clarifying that the passes are only for entry of the pick up and drop of the passengers and not for parking autos. Page4 of 7

(iii) According to the petitioner, Tiruvallur Railway Station could accommodate only 58 autos. But, 242 auto drivers were issued the entry passes. The total area in Tiruvallur Railway Station is only an extent of 290 sq.meter. As a result of issuing more entry passes, due to traffic congestion, the area is affected during peak hours. Without considering the infrastructural capacity of the area, the second respondent issued more than 100 passes.

(iv) In this regard, one Mr.K.Paramasivam filed W.P.No.13706 of 2024 before this Court seeking a direction to the second respondent to consider his representation and not to issue extra passes for entry to Tiruvallur Railway Station till the premises is streamlined. It is still pending. As a consequence, the issuance of auto rickshaw passes was suspended. But, after one and half years, the second respondent issued 23 new passes to the auto drivers. This is creating traffic congestion and chaos in the locality. Hence, the petitioner sent a representation dated

16.3.2026 to the second respondent. As it did not evoke any response, the petitioner is before this Court. Page5 of 7

¶4Considering the facts and circumstances of the case and without expressing any opinion on the merits, the writ petition is disposed of with a direction to the second respondent to consider the said representation of the petitioner dated 16.3.2026 on merits and pass appropriate orders thereon in accordance with law within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of a copy of this order. No costs. Consequently, the connected WMP is closed. 16-04-2026 Index: Yes/No Speaking/Non-speaking order To

¶1The Commercial Clerk Chennai Division, Commercial Branch, Southern Railway Park Town, Chennai 600003.

¶2The Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Chennai Division, Commercial Branch Southern Railway Park Town, Chennai 600003.

¶3The Deputy Superintendent Of Police Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu 602001. Page6 of 7

¶4The Inspector Of Police Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu 602001. RLI Page7 of 7 M.DHANDAPANI J. RLI WP.No.13959 of 2026 & WMP.No.15216 of 2026 16-04-2026

Page1 of 7 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 16-04-2026 CORAM THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE M.DHANDAPANI W.P.No.13959 of 2026 & WMP.No.15216 OF 2026 P.Lakshmanan ...Petitioner Vs 1. The Commercial Clerk Chennai Division, Commercial Branch, Southern Railway Park Town, Chennai 600003. 2. The Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Chennai Division, Commercial Branch Southern Railway Park Town, Chennai 600003. 3. The Deputy Superintendent of Police Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu 602001. 4. The Inspector of Police Tiruvallur, Tamil Nadu 602001. ...Respondents PETITION under Article 226 of The Constitution of India praying for the issuance of a Writ of Mandamus directing the 2nd respondent to Page2 of 7 consider the petitioner's representation dated 16.3.2026 in order to cancel the issued auto passes. For Petitioner: Mr.M.Velmurugan For R3 & R4: Mr.P.T.Ramkumar, Standing Counsel for R1 & R2 Mr.V.Meghanathan, GA (Crl.Side) for R3 & R4