The Madras High Court has passed a set of directions with respect to homestays operating without licenses and the process of e-pass for the movement of vehicles in the hills. The High Court also took into consideration the concerns relating to an eco-friendly transport system & FASTag Integration.

The High Court was considering the issue of a large number of homestays/cottages functioning without any license from the Tourism Department or other agencies of the local bodies.

The Division Bench of Justice N. Sathish Kumar and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy said, “Therefore, immediate measures are required to crack down all those illegal operators who operate without license from the Tourism Department. In this regard, this Court is of the view that inspection shall be carried out throughout Nilgris District as well as Kodaikanal hills by a committee comprising of District Revenue Officer, Municipal Commissioner and District Tourism Officer concerned.”

Advocate T.V. Suresh Kumar represented the Petitioner while Spl.GP Dr. T. Seenivasan represented the Respondent

The High Court asked the Committee to ensure that inspection is carried throughout the hills. “This apart, the Committee shall also ascertain information through various private booking websites and ascertain whether the listed home stays, cottages are license operators or not”, it ordered. Licensed home stay operators and hoteliers, and the general public can also bring to the notice of the Committee any person operating illegal home stays or any place that is allowed to be maintained as home stays/cottages without a license.

“Let a thorough inspection be carried out and wherever the committee finds that there are illegal operations, the Committee shall in accordance with law close down such establishment forthwith. A detailed inspection be carried on, an action be taken and such action taken report be filed before this Court on the next hearing date with photograph and videograph”, the order read.

Issue relating to e-pass/carrying capacity

On the aspect of e-pass/carrying capacity, the Bench noticed that a Status report has been filed regarding the implementation of the e-pass system. It has been stated that the e-pass system is being implemented in 5 checkposts in Nilgris.

On the issue of an eco-friendly transport system, the Bench mentioned that the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu has announced that it will be implemented, and a sum of Rs.5 crores has also been earmarked. Procedures are being on to introduce "Hop-on Hop-off" bus service to connect major tourist destinations across the districts. “As far as the establishment of EV charging infrastructure is concerned, the process of indentifying suitable location has been instructed to the local bodies and relevant department”, it stated.

Installation of boom barriers and FASTag Integration

It was brought to the Court’s notice that the FASTag integration MoU has been signed and sent to the Indian Highways Management Company Limited (IHMCL) for approval. At the Kunjappanai checkpost, civil works have been completed and the remaining installation is scheduled to be identified and earmarked for the future installation of boom barriers at the Masinagudi and Melgudalur checkposts to enhance traffic regulation and monitoring capabilities. For the remaining 12 checkposts in the Nilgris District, formal communication has been sent to the IHMCL seeking support for the integration of FASTag technology.

The Bench was further informed by the Special Government Pleader (Forests) and the Additional Collector, Nilgris, that there are some special festivals, i.e., flower show, fruit show and rose show, that is to happen on certain days at Ooty. “Depending on the need, we confer the discretion on the District Collector, Nilgris to increase the upper cap limit by 500 numbers of vehicles depending on the needs only on those days. Similarly, on the day of flower show in Kodaikanal, if the necessity arises, the District Collector, Kodaikanal can also increase the upper cap by another 300 number of vehicles”, it said.

The Bench also asked the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways to instruct the IHMCL to expedite the entire process and to sign the MoU at the earliest and also future MoUs that are required in respect of Nilgris and Kodaikanal so that the entire e-pass can be implemented seamlessly.

The matter has now been called on June 20, 2025.

Cause Title: G. Subramania Koushik v. The Principal Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu (Case No.: W.P. No. 15120 of 2019

Appearance:

Petitioner: Advocate T.V.Suresh Kumar, M/s Genicon & Associates

Respondent: Spl.GP Dr. T. Seenivasan, Advocates A.Sri Jeyanthi, K.Madhan, SPC V.Chandrasekaran, Senior Counsel M/s.T.Mohan, Amicus Curiae M.Santhanaraman, C.Mohan, Rahul Balaji

Click here to read/download Order


Madras High CourtJustice N. Sathish KumarJustice D Bharatha Chakravarthy

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.