HAMEED Vs. ASHOKAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants A.K. Hameed and K.N. Anwar are third parties to the writ proceedings. They filed this Writ Appeal with the leave of this Court. The Writ Appeal is filed against the judgment in O.P. 22587/99 dated 7.9.1999. The learned Single Judge by judgment dated 7.9.1999 directed the Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, Thrissur to dispose of Ext. P2 application for temporary permit within one week from the date of receipt of copy of the judgment.

(2.) It is now represented by the counsel for the first respondent that the temporary permit granted by the Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, Thrissur has expired on 2.10.1999 and, therefore, nothing further survives in this Writ Appeal to be adjudicated upon by this Court. According to the learned counsel for the appellant, Secretary, Regional Transport Authority is not the competent authority to consider and grant temporary permit on inter district route and the competent authority is only the Regional Transport Authority. The route in question in the instant case is Ernakulam - Guruvayoor, which is an inter district route. R.170 of the Kerala Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 deals with grant of temporary permits for other regions without counter signature. The rule says that a temporary permit granted by the Regional Transport Authority shall be valid in any other region or regions in this State without counter signature by the Regional Transport Authority of the other region or regions in the following cases :-