ASHWANI KUMAR Vs. REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY BIKANER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IA Nos. 2 and 3 filed in Civil Appeal No. 1122 of 1998 are allowed.

(2.) Regional Transport Authority, Bikaner is stated to have circulated a Circular Note No. 3537 for opening a route Bhadra-Delhi being the inter-State route lying within the jurisdiction of the States of Rajasthan, Haryana and U.T. Delhi. Appellant Birbal applied for grant of one stage carriage permit on the said route for which he offered his Bus Model No. 1986. Besides appellant, Abhey Singh and Kan Singh also submitted applications for the grant of permit on the same route. The Regional Transport Authority, Bikaner (hereinafter referred to as "RTA, Bikaner) is stated to have resolved on 22nd November, 1993 to open the said route but granted the permit in favour of Abhey Singh only for providing daily one return trip. The appellant's application was rejected along with one Kan Singh. Being aggrieved with the order of the RTA, Bikaner, the appellant and Kan Singh filed separate appeals, the appellant's appeal being No. 64/94 before the State Transport Appellate Tribunal, Rajasthan, Jaipur. The Tribunal took up both the appeals together and allowed the same vide its order dated 4-4-1994. The Tribunal is stated to have held that the order of the RTA, Bikaner rejecting the applications of the appellants before it was wrong since the vehicles offered by both of them were within the prescribed model in Resolution No. 1 of 1993 of the State Transport Authority. The RTA, Bikaner was directed to grant stage carriage permit to the appellant in respect of his bus for providing daily one single trip on the condition that the permit would be valid on obtaining counter signatures from the concerned States. The RTA, Bikaner is stated to have issued permit in favour of the appellant vide its order dated 3-5-1993. Consequent upon the issuance of permit in its favour the appellant is stated to have started plying his Vehicle No. RJ-07/P 0777 covered by route No. 172. However, in January, 1997 appellant's permit was cancelled by the RTA, Bikaner purportedly consequent upon the decision of the Rajasthan High Court dated 7-7-1995 in Writ Petition No. 2929/94 wherein it was held that the route in dispute did not exist before the passing of the order of the RTA, Bikaner. Being aggrieved with the order of the RTA, Bikaner, cancelling the appellant's permit a writ petition was filed by the appellant in the High Court of Rajasthan submitting therein that the judgment of the learned single Judge dated 31st March, 1995 passed in Civil Writ No. 1877 of 1994, confirmed by the Division Bench in Special Appeal No. 361 of 1995 by its dated 7-11-1995, relied upon by the learned single Judge in his order dated 7-7-1995 in Writ Petition No. 2929/94 had earlier been challenged in the Supreme Court in SLP (C) No. 18050/96 wherein leave was granted on 11-8-1997 and the operation of the judgment of the High Court stayed. It was contended that in view of the order of this Court, the cancellation of the permit was illegal and deserved to be quashed. The writ petition filed by the appellant was dismissed on the ground of existence of an alternative remedy under Section 89 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. Special Appeal (Writ) No. 862 of 1997 filed by the appellant against the order of the learned single Judge was dismissed on 22nd August, 1997. Not satisfied with the dismissal of his appeal, the appellant has preferred this appeal.

(3.) Appellants in Civil Appeal No. 3341 of 1997 claimed to have been granted permit for plying their buses from Sangaria in Rajasthan to Delhi route. The aforesaid route was claimed to be part of the route Ganganagar to Delhi which was stated to be falling in the reciprocal agreement between the two States. Respondent No. 2, the Rajasthan Road Transport Corporation filed a writ petition in the High Court of Rajasthan against the grant of route permits to the appellants. A learned single Judge of the High Court vide his order dated 31st January, 1995 set aside the order of the RTA, Bikaner granting permits to the appellants on Sangaria to Delhi inter-State route. The appeal filed against the judgment of the learned single Judge was dismissed vide the impugned judgment in this appeal. The respondent-Corporation in its writ petition had submitted that under the Reciprocal Transport Agreement arrived at in between the States of Rajasthan and Haryana, the Corporation was providing services on the Ganganagar-Delhi via Hanumangarh-Sangaria-Dabwal-Hissar, etc. The appellants had applied in October, 1993 for grant of stage carriage permits in their favour by opening a new inter-State route Sangaria to Delhi via Dabwali-Hissar without mentioning therein the necessary particulars. It is alleged that on 21st October, 1993 the RTA, Bikaner was informed that the applicants had not disclosed the particulars of Sangaria-Delhi route which was overlapping by the notified route and the details of the length of the route. The Secretary, RTA, Bikaner vide his Circular Note dated 28th October , 1993 stated that all the three applicants, including the appellants had amended applications on 27th October, 1993 for Sangaria-Delhi inter-State route in a length of 359 kilometers out of which a small portion in a length of 3 kilometers lay in the State of Rajasthan and 323 kilometers in the State of Haryana. The remaining portion of 33 kilometers was stated to be in Delhi. The RTA, Bikaner, after considering the circular notes sent by the Secretary to the RTA decided to open a new Sangaria-Delhi inter-State route for which temporary stage carriage permits were granted to the appellants.