T GOVINDARAJA MUDALIAR Vs. STATE OF TAMIL NADU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These appeals by certificate arise out of a common judgment of the Madras High Court given in a number of writ petitions filed before it by various stage carriage operators.

(2.) The facts have been set out in detail in the judgment of the High Court and need be stated only briefly. The policy of nationalisation of passenger bus transport in the State of Madras (Now Tamil Nadu) was laid down by the Government Order dated June 7, 1967. Under that order all routes of 75 miles and above, all routes radiating or terminating in Madras City and all routes in the Kanyakumari District were to be nationalised as and when the permits of the private operators expired. By the Government Order dated June 17, 1967 a committee was constituted for implementing the above decision. A draft scheme was prepared by the committee for nationalising the routes in question to the complete elimination of private operators. This scheme was published under S. 68-C of the Motor Vehicles Act 1939, hereinafter called the 'Act'. A number of writ petitions were filed in the High Court in 1967 challenging the validity of the draft scheme. That scheme was struck down by the High Court. Thereafter the Governor of Madras inserted Rule 23-A in the Madras Government Business Rules in exercise of his powers under Art. 166 of the Constitution. It was provided thereby that the powers and functions which the State Transport Undertaking could exercise under S. 68-C shall be exercised by the Secretary to the Government of Madras in the Industries, Labour and Housing Department on behalf of the State Government. It was also provided by that Rule that the powers and functions of the State Government under S. 68-D of the Act and the Rules relating thereto were to be exercised by the Secretary to the Government of Madras in the Home Department on behalf of the State Government. In April 1968 an Ordinance was promulgated by the Governor which was later replaced by the Madras Act 18 of 1968 which became effective from April 1, 1968. By that enactment S. 47 (1) CC, S. 58 (2) (A) and S. 68 (CC) were added to the Act. Under the first two sections the Regional Transport Authority was to have due regard to the publication of the draft scheme in granting. The State Transport Undertaking, however, was entitled as of right to the issuance of a temporary permit on the publication of a draft scheme under S. 68 (CC) In exercise of the powers and functions under the new Business Rule 23-A schemes of nationalisation were promulgated and published. A number of operators again filed writ petitions challenging the draft scheme as also the validity of the Tamil Nadu Act 18 of 1968. The High Court upheld the validity of these provisions including the newly added sections. That decision was affirmed by this Court in A. Sanjeevi Naidu v. State of Madras (1970) 3 SCR 505 . It was pointed out in that judgment that in the State of Tamil Nadu the State Transport Undertaking is a Department of the State Government. Therefore the necessary opinion had to be formed by that Government. It was held that the function under the Act had been allocated by the Governor to the Transport Minister under the Rules and the Secretary of that Ministry had been validly authorised under Rule 23-A to take action under S. 68 (C) of the Act. The validity of the provisions of the Madras Act 18 of 1968 which amended the Act had been canvassed before this Court but it was observed that it was not necessary to decide that matter while deciding the question of the validity of the impugned scheme.

(3.) As pointed out by the High Court a third attempt was made by way of filing writ petitions in the High Court out of which the present appeals have arisen to impugn the validity of Chapter IV-A of the Act as amended by Madras Act 18 of 1968. We shall first state the allegations which are relevant for deciding the constitutionality of the impugned provisions. In this connection we may refer to writ petition No. 780 of 1970 in which the petitioner V. Krishnamurthy was one of those who had challenged the validity of the draft scheme published by the Director, Madras State Transport Department as well as the draft scheme published by the Secretary to the Government of Madras, Industries, Labour and Housing Department. It was stated in para 7 of the petition that by reason of the dismissal of the appeals by this Court the Secretary to the Government, Home Department, would now be competent to take up the draft scheme for hearing under S. 68-D of the Act. On finalisation of the scheme the petitioner's permit would automatically stand cancelled. In that event the petitioner's business would have to be closed down and he would be seriously affected financially. The following part of paragraph 7 may be reproduced: