DEEP CHAND BRAHMAN LAL SINGH NIRANJAN SINGH HARI SHANKER SHYAM LAL RAM PRASAD JAIN TRANSPORT GENERAL TRADING CO JAIPAL SINGH VIRENDRA PAL GUPTA VISHAMBHAR DAYAL GUPTA REJENDRAPAL SIA RAM BRIJPAL SINGH PANDIT SRINIVAS MADHO RAM MOHI UDD Vs. STATE OF UTTAR PRADESH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE following Judgment of S. R. Das C. J. and B. P. Sinna J. was delivered by

(2.) WE have had the advantage of perusing the judgment prepared by our learned Brother Subba Rao and 'we agree with the order proposed by him, namely, that all the above appeals should be dismissed with costs, although we do not subscribe to all the reasons advanced by him.

(3.) THE appellants have been carrying on business as stage carriage operators for a considerable number of years on different routes in Uttar Pradesh under valid, permits issued under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, along with buses owned by government. THE U. P. Legislature, after obtaining the assent of the President on 23/04/1955, passed the U. P. Act and duly published it on 24/04/1955. Under s. 3 of the U. P. Act, the government issued a notification dated 17/05/1955, whereunder it was directed that the aforesaid routes along with others should be exclucively served by the stage carriages of the government and the private stage carriages should be excluded from those routes. On 12/11/1955, the State government published the notification under s. 4 of the U. P. Act formulating the scheme for the aforesaid routes among others. THE appellants received notices under s. 5 of the U. P. Act requiring them to file objections, if any, to the said scheme; and after the objections were received, they were informed that they would be heard by a Board on 2/01/1956. On that date, the objections filed by the operators other than those of the Agra region were heard and the inquiry in regard to the Agra region was adjourned to 7/01/1956. It appears that the operators of the Agra region did not appear on the 7th. THE notification issued under s. 8 of the U. P. Act was published in the U. P. Gazette on 23/06/1956, and on 25/06/1956, the secretary to the Regional Transport Authority, Agra, sent an order purported to have been issued by the Transport Commissioner to the operators, of the Agra region prohibiting them from plying their stage carriages on the routes and also informing them that their permits would be transferred to other routes. On 7/07/1956, a notice was sent to filed Writ Petitions in the Allahabad High court challenging the validity of the U. P. Act and the notifications issued thereunder.