GYAN SINGH Vs. REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY ALIGARH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner seeks a writ of mandamus commanding the respondents to decide his objection in respect of grant of temporary or permanent stage carriage permit on the route Sikandara Rau-Jalesar-Hathras Junction (in short the 'route').

(2.) The petitioner is an existing operator on the route in question. His version is that 40 stage carriages are being piled on the aforesaid route on the basts of permanent permits granted to him and other operators by the authority concerned. The respondents are also going to extend the route in question, which will overlap 15 kms. route of the petitioner out of 25 kms., the total length of the route. Certain other persons have applied for grant of permit on the route in question. The petitioner is alleged to have filed objection before the Regional Transport Authority, Aligarh, respondent No. 1 against the grant of any further permit. His grievance is that if other permit is granted to other persons on the route in question, the petitioner and other operators will not be able to meet out the expenses of vehicles, which they are running along with the taxes, which they are liable to pay. The question is whether the petitioner has a right to seek mandamus commanding the respondents to consider his objection by a speaking order and thereby to function as a quasi-judlcial authority taking into consideration the interest of the petitioner and the persons to whom permit is to be granted.

(3.) In this respect, we have to trace out the history of legislation. Section 46 of the Motor Vehicles Act. 1939 (in short the 'Act') provided for submission of the application for grant of stage carriage permit. Section 47 of the said Act provided the procedure in considering application for stage carriage permit by the Regional Transport Authority. Sub-section (1) of Section 47 provided for various guidelines, which were to be, considered by the Regional Transport Authority white considering an application for stage carriage permit. Clause (f) of Sub-section (1) of Section 47 of the Act reads as under ;