T MUTHULAKSHMI Vs. MEENAKSHI BUS TRANSPORTS; REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY; STATE TRANSPORT APPELLATE TRIBUNAL AND JEEVA TRANSPORT CORPORATION LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In brief, the history of the case, which commenced from 1964 relates to the grant of two stage carriage permits to ply on the route Salem to Erode under Section 57(2) of the Old Motor Vehicles Act.

(2.) By proceedings dated 25.04.1964, permit was granted to the appellant herein and also to one L.R.N. Bus Service Private Limited, who is not a party here. Aggrieved by this, eleven appeals were filed and the appellant and the first respondent were also impleaded in the said appeals. The State Transport Appellate Tribunal dismissed ten appeals and Appeal No. 1765 of 1966 filed by the first respondent alone was allowed setting aside the grant made in favour of the appellant. The grant made in favour of the L.R.N. Bus Service mentioned above, who is not a party here, was also confirmed. The dispute does not really concern L.R.N. Bus Service. The ten appellants, whose appeals were dismissed, did not challenge the same and the orders have attained finality. Aggrieved by the order against the appellant, Civil Revision Petition No. 1500 of 1978 was filed. In this, the first respondent and L.R.N. Bus Service were parties. On 19.07.1978, when the revision petition was admitted, all the three operators were permitted to ply on the route. On 25.11.1981, the revision was allowed and the matter was sent back to the Appellate Tribunal with a direction to keep the appeal pending till the draft scheme was finalised. This Court also directed maintenance of status quo, which meant all the three operators continued to ply on the two routes. There upon, the appeal was restored and was pending till 1990.

(3.) On 01.07.1989, the 1988 Motor Vehicles Act, came into force. As per Section 100(4) of the Act, which provided that if a scheme is not published as an approved scheme within a period of one year, it is deemed to have lapsed, the draft scheme lapsed. The appeal was also not taken up for consideration for a while. On 31.07.1992, the Tamil Nadu Special Provisions Motor Vehicle Act, 1992 (Tamil Nadu Act 41 of 1992) came into force. According to Section 7, every application for the grant of new permit on a notified route and all the appeals arising there from or relating thereto made or preferred before the date of publication of the Act and pending before the Court or an Officer or an authority or the Tribunal, abated. On 07.08.1995, the Appellate Tribunal dismissed the appeal as abated, since in its view Section 7 of the Act, applied to the proceedings pending before it. Therefore, the first respondent herein filed Writ Petition Nos. 12826 and 12827 of 1995. Pending the writ petitions, again there was an interim order and both the appellant and the first respondent were operating on the route. On 18.06.2003, the writ petitions were disposed of and while doing so, the learned single Judge held that the appeal had not abated and that since the Appellate Tribunal must decide the same on merits, remanded the matter to the Appellate Tribunal. He also directed the maintenance of status quo regarding the operation of the buses as on the date of the order till the disposal of the appeal by the Appellate Tribunal. Clarifying the position, the order reads as follows: