KALYAN SINGH 1 SARDAR SINGH IN PETN NO 180 OF 61 2 LAL SINGH IN PETN NO 181 OF 61 AND 3 BHARAT RAJ SINGH IN PETN NO 205 OF 61 PETITIONERS Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESHS :STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appeal and the writ petitions practically raise the same points and may be disposed of together. At the outset we shall briefly state the facts relevant to each of the said proceedings.

(2.) The appellant in Civil Appeal No. 325 of 1961 held a permit for plying stage carriage on the Kanpur-Bela-Bidhuna route via Chaubepur, in the State of Uttar Pradesh. The entire route is 68 miles long, and a part of the route 16 miles in length i.e., Kanpur to Chaubepur, is a notified route. This part was common between the said route and the Kanpur-Chaubepur-Sarai Miran route, which was a nationalised route. A condition was, therefore, attached to the appellant's permit that he would not be entitled to pick up passengers or drop them between Kanpur and Chaubepur. His permit was to expire on June 10, 1960. Before the said date, be applied for renewal of his permit, and on May 20, 1960 it was published in the U. P. Government Gazette calling for objections. On the same day, the State Government published a notification in the Gazette proposing to nationalise the said route. As the application for renewal could not be disposed of before the expiry of the period fixed in the permit, a temporary permit for the route was granted to the appellant. On July 19, 1960 the application for renewal of the appellant's permit was considered by the Regional Transport Authority, Kanpur, and his permit was renewed for three years with effect from July 23, 1960 only in respect of a part of the old route, namely, Chaubepur-Bela-Bidhuna; but under the directions of the Transport Commissioner, the Regional Transport Authority made an endorsement on the renewed permit authorizing the appellant to ply his vehicles between Kanpur and Chaubepur for a period of four months commencing from July 23, 1960. As regards the proposed scheme of nationalisation, on June 22, 1960 the appellant filed his objections thereto. The said objections were heard by the Joint Secretary, Judicial Department, who approved the scheme with some modifications. The approved scheme was published in the Gazette on October 8,1960. Under the notification the scheme was to be put into operation from October 15, 1960 or thereafter. On November 12, 1960, a notification dated November 4, 1960 was published in the Gazette under S. 68F of the Motor Vehicles Act cancelling the appellant's renewed permit with effect from November 27, 1960, Under the nationalization scheme the stage carriages belonging to the State Transport Undertaking could ply on the said route without obtaining permits. The appellant filed a petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution in the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad praying for the following reliefs:

(3.) Writ Petition No. 205 of 1961 is filed in this Court by another operator under Art, 32 of the Constitution. He was plying his stage carriage on the Jaunpur-Shahganj route in Uttar Pradesh under Permit No. 430, which was valid up to March 15, 1962. The State Government published in the Gazette dated July 23, 1960 a notification dated July 15, 1960 under S. 68-C of the Act proposing to nationalize the said route along with another route. The petitioner and others filed objections against the scheme within the time prescribed. The objections were heard by the Joint Secretary, Judicial Department, who approved the scheme. The approved scheme was published in the U. P. Official Gazette dated February 25, 1961. Thereafter, the Secretary to the Regional Transport Authority, Allahabad, issued a notification dated July 29, 1961 wherein it was stated that the permits of the operators on the said routes including that of the petitioner would stand cancelled and that the notification would come into force upon the expiry of 15 days from the date of publication of the said notification. The petitioner has filed the present writ petition asking for the following reliefs :-