LexRATTAN LAL GUPTA & ORS. ETC. ETC. versus SURAJ BHAN & ORS. ETC. ETC.
Open in Lexace · Ask the AI about this caseJudgment (excerpt)
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555
RATTAN LAL GUPTA & ORS. ETC. ETC.
v.
SURAJ BHAN & ORS. ETC.
ETC.
November 29, 1973
[P. JAGANMOHAN REDDY, s. N. DWIVEDI AND P. K. GOSWAMI, JJ.).
A1otor Vehicles Act, 1939-S.41(3}-lf the Regional Transport Authority could
grant·ptrmits wit~out first fixing the strength.
There were two bus routes-the Shorter and the longer routes-both being over-
lapoin~. On the shorter route, the strength of the stage carriage pennit was fixed
at 17 in 1950. In July 1958 the Rcitiona1 Transoort Authority decided to extend
the shorter route by about six miles (which is ca1Jed the longer route). Jn March,
1959 the strength of the shorter route was increased from 17 to 25. The State
Transport Apocllate Tribunal approved the .extension of the shorter route. The
R.T.A. advertised for eight vacancies in the shorter route and a number of applica-
cations had been reccive,d. Certain ·objections were raised to the increase in the
streAAth and to the _Wrong description of the route. Jn August 1961 the RTA decided
that the only route that survived was the longer route. The existing permits for the
shorter route were in the meantime converted into perinits for the longer route.
When appeliati.ts in the third group had applied for permits on the shorter route,
obiections were raised that the shorter route had ceased to exist. Overruling the
ob.iections, the RTA mnted eight permits to the appellants, which decision was
upheld· by the State Tran1port Appellate Tribunal in August, 1967.
The Hight Court held {i) that without fixing the stren!!:th first on.the longer route
permits could not be granted for it{ii) that the RTA should have first decided whether
there were two routes or one and then fixed the strength of the route or
1outes and that not having been done in accordance with law there was no proper
disposal of the applications for permits~ (iii) that the reduction of the strength of 25
to 9 on the shorter route as done by the RTA was illegal.
Dismissing the appeals of the appellants in the first and second groups· and
allowing the appeal of the third group.
HELD : As the RTA had not fixed -the number of permits for the longer route
the grant of. perm_its for the longer route was .invalid. [560-0J
Jn March, 1959 the RTA had fixed the number of permits for the shorter route
at 25. As 17 permits had already been granted, the RTA invited applications fer
eigkt vacancies in June, 1959. So the strength was fixed long before the invitation
of applications for permits. At on~ stage the. RTA had taken the view that tf.
shorter route had merged in the longer route but later it rectified the mistake and
held that the shorter route and the longer route existed separately. The latter view
of the RTA was correct in the then prevailing circumstances. {560·H]
A decision to extend the shorter route to a longer distance under the U.P. Motor
Vehicles Taxation Act will not automatically merge the shorter route in the longer
route. For that purpose it was necessary for the RTA to take an independent
decision under t.i.e Motor Vehicles Act. But no such decision was taken. The RTA
realised the mistake and rectified it in its meeting of May, 1965. The decision of
the RTA dated May, 1965 that the shorter route still existed with a strength of 25
stage caniages and that the shorter route and the longer route were ~parate routes
was correct. [561-C-D]
·
TheRTA couldnot reducethestrengthoftheshorterroute from25 to9. There
were, tlterefore, eight vacancies on the shorter route and the RTA could validly
grant eight permits to the appellants in the third group. The High Court was wrong
in quashing the grant of permits to the appellants in the third group,· [561-B-F]
R. Obilaswaml Naidu v. Transport Appel/at• Trlbunal,.Madra> [196911 S.C.R.
730, Mis Jaya Ram MotQr Service v. S. Ra;arathlnan, C.A. No. 95 ot 1965 decided
oil 27-10-1967, Mohd. Ibrahim •le. v. State Transport App•/lat• Tribunal, M•dras,
556
SUPREME COURT REP OR TS
[1974) 2 s.c.R.
etc .. [1971] 1 S.C.R. 523, Abdul Mateen !. Ram Kai/ash Pandey, [1963] 3 S.C.R.
523 and Baluram v. State Transport Appel/ate, Authority, M.P., C. A. No. 527/65
decided on 22-3-1968, referred to.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeals
Nos. 1592-
1595 of 1971.
From the Judgment and Decree dated the 30th September, 1969,
of the Allahabad High Court in Civil Miscellaneous Writ Nos. 5210,
5246, 5398 and 5410 of 1964.
CIVIL APPEALS No. 1628-163Excerpt shown. Read the full judgment & AI analysis in Lexace.