B SRIKANTIAH Vs. REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY ANANTAPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This Appeal is by a Certificate against the Judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court given in a batch of Writ Petitions of which the Writ Petition giving rise to this Appeal was one. The High Court while dismissing the Writ Petitions gave certain directions to which we will refer later.

(2.) A few facts may be stated to appreciate the matters in issue in this appeal. The Madras Motor Vehicles (Taxation of Passengers and Goods) Act (Act XVI of 1952) became applicable to the State of Andhra and subsequently to the Andhra Pradesh when the respective reorganisation of States took place in 1953 and 1956. In 1959 the Andhra Pradesh legislature enacted the Motor Vehicles (Taxation of Passengers and Goods) Andhra Pradesh (Amendment) Act with a view to augment the revenue of the State. By this amendment Act the rates had been increased in inspect of stage carriages as well as in respect of goods vehicles. It is not necessary to notice what those rates are except to say that under sub-section (2) of Section 1 of the Madras Motor vehicles (Taxation of Passengers and Goods) Andhra Pradesh (Amendment) Act 1959, the Govt. of Andhra Pradesh appointed the 8th May, 1959 as the date on which the State Act came into force. On 7th May1959 by G. O. Ms. No. 1077 the State Transport Authority was directed by the Government to fix maximum fares inclusive of the leviable tax under the Act for the stage carriages in the State of Andhra Pradesh which immediately before the 1st November, 1956 were comprised in the State of Andhra. The Andhra Pradesh Amendment having come into force it was challenged in a batch of Writ Petitions in the High Court of Andhra Pradesh and that Court had struck down the Act as being unconstitutional. The legislature thereafter passed Act 34 of 1961 by validating the levy under the Act which was struck down by the High Court and also for imposition of surcharge from the different dates from the date on which it came into force namely from the 3rd November, 61. The operators again questioned the Amendment Act of 1961 on the ground that they had not collected the fares on the enhanced rates fixed by the Transport Authority because by the condition of their permit they were precluded from collecting the fares at a rate higher than 7- 1/2 pies or 4 NP per passenger per mile. In view of the fact that the Regional Transport Authorities had not taken action to modify that condition suitably they could not collect this amount and therefore were not liable to pay surcharge at the enhanced rates. This contention was negatived by the High Court which while rejecting the Writ petitions on that ground none-the-less directed that the Respondents will not be entitled to payment or collect the enhanced surcharge from the operators for the month of May 1959 which the Counsel for the Government had stated on instruction that the Government will not collect.

(3.) The point which is urged before us, as was urged in the High Court is whether the enhanced surcharge became operative and payable immediately on the coming into force of the 1961 Act of was it necessary to amend the conditions of the permit dealing with the fares leviable by the operators before the Government could collect the enhanced surcharge from them. The learned Advocate for the Appellants argues relying on Madhya Pradesh Transport Co. Private Ltd. v. State of Madhya Pradesh AIR 1982 Madh Pra 108 that unless the table of fares is altered in accordance with the procedure laid down fares which include taxes cannot be lawfully collected and therefore they are not in law bound to pay the enhanced surcharge. This very contention was raised before the High Court which disagreeing with the Madhya Pradesh case cited above held that the directions issued by the Government in G. O. Ms. No. 1077 of 7th May 1959 pursuant to which the Regional Transport Authority by its proceedings dated 12th May 1959 called upon the Regional Transport Officers to notify the operators and which the said officers had notified authorising them to collect the enhanced fares was sufficient authorisation for them to collect the enhanced fares as if the fare tables had been amended.