BHARATPUR MOTOR WORKERS COOPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD. ETC. versus STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER

Citation: [1975] 2 S.C.R. 37 · Decided: 10-09-1974 · Supreme Court of India · Bench: A.N. RAY, KUTTYIL KURIEN MATHEW, V.R. KRISHNA IYER · Disposal: Dismissed
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Judgment (excerpt)

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37 
BH,'.\RATPUR MOTOR WORKERS·COOPERATIVE SOCIETY 
LTD. ETC. 
1'. 
STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH AND ANOTHER 
September 10, 1974 
[A. N. RAY, C.J. K. K. MATHEW AND V. R. KRrsHNA IYER, JJ.] 
Motor Vehicles Act 
(4 of 1939) ss. 68C and 68D-l111er-State route-
Publication of Scheme by State Transport Undertaking in official gazette-
Wheth.er should be in the gazettes of all States concerned. 
· 
· 
Section 68C of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, enables State Transport Under-
takings to prepare schemes excluding totally or partially, private operators from 
bus routes. It provides for the publication of the prepared scheme and cognate 
particulars in the official Gazette and in such other manner as the State Govern-
ment may direct. Sertion 680 provides for hearing of the viewpoints of categories. 
of. entities enumerated in the section. · 
·The State Transport Undertaking of U.P. contemplated framing of a scheme 
excluding private operators from the route Agra (in U.P.) to Bharatpur (in 
Rajasthan). The scheme was pub!ished in the official gazette of the State of 
U.P., but was not published in the gazette of Rajasthan. Some private operators, 
other than the appellants, raised objections but the scheme· was approved. The 
appellants challenged the scheme on the ground that the non-publication of the 
schem.e in the Raja11than Gazette was a contravention of the vital forrnallty in 
s. 68C. The }!:igh Court dismissed the petition. 
Disniissi'ng the appeal to this Court, 
HELD : ( 1) Se:tion 68C relates to both intra-state and inter-state schemes. 
The wholesome intendment of ss. 68C and 680 could be fulfilled if schemes 
relating to inter-state routes are published in all the States concerned. But, a 
perusal of s. 68C shows that it speaks of the State Government, . the ·Official 
gazette and the State Transport Undertaking, even though, inter-state schemes 
also come within the compass of the provision. Therefore. the section merely 
requires publication in the concerned official gazette of the State whose under-
taking initiates the project for nationaJisation. The fa:t that for statutory con-
struction the singular includes the plural, does ROI make it . compulso1 y to read 
the plural wherever the singular is mentioned. The expression 'in the official 
gazette, and the publication required therein, does not undergo a change in its 
semantics when the route concerned is an inter-state as against an intra-state 
one. [40D, G-4.!Al 
(2) The High Court was right in rejecting the contention that authorities in 
the State of U.P. could not validly cancel permits held by bus operators of 
Re}asthan. 
[ 41 C-D] 
· 
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CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeals Nos. 1119-1122 
' of 1973 and 816 to 835 of 1974. · 
· 
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From the judgment and order dated the 9th December, 1971 of 
the Allahabad High Court in Sp!, Appeals Nos. 658, 664, 674 and 
· 678/1968, and 653-657, 659_;._660, 663, 667, 
669-673, 
677, 
678-680 and 685-686/1968 respectively. 
M. N. Phadke, (In C. A. No. 1119/73), D. Sen (In C. A. Nos. 
1120-1122/73) and D. N. Mishr~, for the appellants (In C. As. Nos. 
1119-1122173). 
38 
SUPREME COURT REPORTS 
[197512 s.c.R. 
B. P. Maheshwari, for the appellants (In C. As. Nos. 816-835/ 
74). 
0. P. Ran.a, for the respondents (In all the appeals). 
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by 
KRISHNA IYER, J.-Tbese appeals stem out of a !itigation which 
germinated from a certain nationalisation scheme contemplated in 
Chapter IVA of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (Act ·IV of 1939) 
(hereinafter called the Act). 
· 
More than a decade ago, the State Transport Undertaking of Uttar 
Pradesh (hereinafter reforred to as the Undertaking, for short) took 
steps for framing four schemes for four routes :and proceeded to pub-
lish the necessary notifications in the Uttar Pradesh Gazette, copies 
whereof were sent to Rajasthan for being pasted on the notice boards 
of the Transport Authorities in that State. 
A statutory enquiry, en-
visaged in Chaper JV A, followed. 
Some operators-qot. the appel-
lants-raised objections and, eventually, the schemes were approved. 
Of course these schemes related to inter-State routes and had received · 
the concurrence of the State of Rajasthan. 
Although the Act con-
templates the framini: of schemes for nationalisation for the obvious 
benefit of the travellmg public by provision of an efficient, adequate, 
economical and properly coordinated road 
transport service 
and 
affords statut
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