REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY Vs. SRI KASHI PRASAD GUPTA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These are two appeals from an order of a learned Judge dated the 1st, January, 1960, Sri Ram Audh Misra, the first appellant in Appeal No. 11, held a permit permitting him to ply a stage carriage on the Deoria-Lar route, and Sri. Mohammad Ismail and Sri Mahabir Prasad, the second and third appellants in that appeal, were the holders of permits permitting them to ply on the Siswabazar-ThuthibarI route. Schemes under Chap. IVA of the Motor Vehicles Act were prepared, whereunder these two routes were to be operated exclusively by a state transport undertaking and in due course the schemes were approved and the two routes became notified, routes. The schemes involved the displacement of the three appellants, arid provision was made in the schemes for the payment to them of compensation therefor. Although the schemes made no provision for the appellants being offered alternative routes, the Regional Transport Authority, Gorakhpur, offered permits to the three appellants permitting them to ply on the Gorakhpur-Khajni-Gola route. This offer was accepted, and an endorsement was made on the permits of the, three appellants, which had been cancelled with effect from the 21st June, 1959, that these appellants were permitted to ply on the Gorakhpur-Gola route for the unexpired periods of the cancelled permits. The making of the offer and its, acceptance by the appellants was recorded in a resolution, No. 32, of the Regional Transport Authority, Gorakhpur passed at a meeting held on the 26th September 1959.

(2.) Gorakhpur is connected with Gola by two routes. Both routes pass through Khajni and, then one proceeds via Urva and the other via Urva Malkanpur. The number of stage carriages permitted to ply on the former route is ten and on the latter two and as the two routes largely overlap the Regional Transport Authority permits the holder of a permit for one route to ply on the other route. It is common ground that for all practical purposes the two routes can be treated as one, the number of stage carriages permitted to ply thereon being twelve,

(3.) Sri Kashi Prasad Gupta, the principal, respondent In both appeals, (to whom it is convenient to refer as 'the respondent') is the holder of a permit permitting him to ply his stage carriage on the Gorakhpur-Gola via Khajni and Urva route. He filed a petition in this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution challenging the validity of resolution No. 32 of the Regional Transport Authority passed at its meeting on the 26th September 1959, and prayed that it be quashed by writ of certiorari. He further prayed for the issue of a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the Regional Transport Authority to forbear from permitting the three appellants to ply on the Gorakhpur-Gola route. The learned Judge was of opinion that as the schemes provided for the cancellation of the appellants' licences for their old routes on payment of compensation, the Regional Transport Authority had no power to offer them an alternative route and the grant of permits to the appellants to ply on the Gorakhpur-Gola route was without jurisdiction. He accordingly allowed the petition, quashed the impugned resolution and directed the appellants in appeal No. 11 not to operate on the Gorakhpur-Gola route. It is from that order that these appeals have been filed, the appellants, in Appeal No. 8 being the Regional Transport Authority, Gorakhpur, and its secretary.