Council in court over taxi driver's licence CHERWELL District Council was at the High Court on Wednesday in its campaign to ensure a taxi driver is stripped of his licence after he admitted assaulting his wife.
Father-of-three Naveed Anwar, 30, had been a cabbie for six years when, in March 2009, he pleaded guilty to attacking his wife, Samir, and was handed a community sentence.
And when he revealed the conviction to the district council in September 2009, it refused to renew his Hackney Carriage and Private Hire Vehicle licenses, saying he was not “a fit and proper person” to drive around the paying public.
However, in January last year, Cherwell was left furious when Banbury Magistrates’ Court upheld Mr Anwar’s appeal, and restored his licences, after hearing of the dire financial consequences for his children and wife, with whom he is now reconciled.
The council has refused to accept the magistrates’ ruling – saying an important point of principle is at stake – and challenged their decision at London’s High Court.
Council barrister Tom Horder said it was every local authority’s primary duty to ensure the safety of cab passengers. The loss of Mr Anwar’s livelihood, and the consequences for his young family, were simply “irrelevant” to the issue of whether he was fit to drive a taxi.
However, Tim Boswell, defending Mr Anwar, said the magistrates were right to find that the attack on his wife was an “isolated offence”. A domestic argument, the court heard, had “got out of hand” and the couple are now back together and there have been no similar problems since.
He pointed to the evidence of the chairman of the Taxi Association, Mr Sikander Hayat, that to strip Mr Anwar of his livelihood would be “a punishment beyond the crime”.
Judge Bidder QC reserved his decision on the council’s appeal, saying he would give his ruling as soon as possible.
source: http://www.oxfordtimes.co.uk/news/9343976.Council_in_court_over_taxi_driver_s_licence/
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