ASIAN BUS SERVICE Vs. STATE TRANSPORT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this Petition, a challenge has been laid to the decision of the Respondents dated 30/8/2005 informing the Petitioner that its request for allotment of inter-State Private Stage Carriage Permit has not been accepted by the Chairman (State Transport Authority)/Commissioner (Transport). Learned counsel for the Petitioner relies on Section 80 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 (M.V. Act in short) and stresses upon the use of the words 'a permit of any kind' employed in sub-section (1) of that Section to contend that a permit must be granted regardless of the failure of the two concerned states to arrive at an agreement on this subject.

(2.) The difficulty which the Petitioner encounters is that in the absence of any Agreement between the Union Territory of Delhi and the State of Haryana, its application has been turned down as mentioned above. On behalf of the Respondents reliance has been placed on Section 88 of the M.V. Act which contemplates the existence of an Agreement between the two States before permits for plying of commercial vehicles between the two States is entertained. In the first place, since Section 88 follows Section 80, it will be the later Section which will regulate the earlier Section. Furthermore, assuming that Section 80 is of general application, it will be modulated by another Section dealing with a particular situation. This, in essence, is the meaning of the Latin maxim generlia specialibus non derogant.

(3.) Learned counsel for the Petitioner has relied on the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Mithilesh Garg vs. Union of India, AIR 1992 SC 443; Hans Raj Kehar vs. State of U.P., AIR 1975 SC 389; Jagdip Singh vs. Jagir Chand, 2001 (8) SCC 437; Subhash Chander vs. State Transport Appellate Tribunal, 2002 (4) SCC 168; Nasiruddin vs. State Transport Authority, AIR 1981 Delhi 9 (DB); Om Prakash Pahwa vs. State of Delhi, 1998(46) DRJ(DB); District Collector of Hyderabad vs. M/s. Ibrahim and Company, AIR 1970 SC 1275; T.N. Raghunatha Reddy vs. Mysore State Transport Authority, AIR 1971 SC 1662; The State of Madras vs. N.K. Nataraja Mudaliar, AIR 1969 SC 147.