P KUMARASWAMY Vs. STATE TRANSPORT APPELLATE TRIBUNAL MADRAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A single fundamental flaw in the order of the Appellate Tribunal (under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939), constrains us to allow this appeal challenging the High Court's refusal to interfere with the grant of the permit in favour of Respondent No. 2.

(2.) Many applicants for one Permit for a "short route" pressed their claims before the Regional Transport Authority which evaluated the relevant merits and awarded the permit to Applicant No. 6, who is the appellant before us. On appeal, Applicant No. 3, who is respondent No. 2 before us, succeeded. Whereupon, a writ petition was filed without success and the disappointed appellant has come to this Court by special leave.

(3.) The system of marks, under the Rules framed under the Act by the Tamil Nadu Government, prescribes the various qualifications for applicants for permits for passenger transport under the Motor Vehicles Act. Rule 155-A crystallises these considerations and describes them as guiding principles for grant of stage carriage permits. The rule itself emphasizes what is obvious, that the paramount consideration of the interest of the public, as enshrined in Section 47 (1), must be given full weight while awarding permits. That means to say that the various factors set out in rule 155-A are subject to Section 47 (1). This is clarified by sub-rule (4) of Rule 155-A, which runs thus: