SARDAR MADAN MOHAN SINGH Vs. REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY, KANPUR REGION AND REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICER, KANPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This petition under Art. 226 of the Constitution for the issue of a writ of Prohibition to the Regional Transport Authority of Kanpur, (R. T. A. for short) has arisen in the following circumstances.

(2.) The petitioner Madan Mohan Singh, one Shiva Ram and six other persons, hold permits under the Motor Vehicles Act for plying stage carriages on the Kalpi Hamirpur via Kadaura route. The petitioner and Shiva Ram have further been granted contracts by the Superintendent of Post Offices, Jhansi, to carry mail between Kalpi and Hamirpur. The question arose of fixing a time-table for the buses of the eight operators on this route. On the 8th Nov., 1955 the Regional Transport Officer (who is the Secretary of the R. T. A.), after hearing both the mail contractors and the non-mail operators, decided that the first bus to leave Kalpi would be of a non-mail operator starting at 6 a.m. while the second would be that of one of the two mail contractors starting at 8-15 a.m., and these timings were adhered to for some time. The mail contractors were however anxious for their buses to start at 7-15 a.m. instead of 8-15 a.m., and made representations accordingly. The Regional Transport Officer made enquiries from the postal authorities, who recommended the starting of the mail bus at 7-15 a.m. Thereupon that Officer on the 10th Dec. 1955 ordered the first mail bus to start at 7-15 a.m. each day. All the operators on the route were duly intimated of this change in order to enable them to lodge objections, if any, before the R. T. A. The R. T. A. held a meeting on the 21st Jan., 1956, and after considering the various objections and recommendations, approved of 7-15 a.m. as the starting time of the first mail bus. Timings of other stage carriages were fixed accordingly. This time-table is still in force.

(3.) It appears that the non-mail operators were dissatisfied with this time-table, and consequently filed objections for the resumption of the old timing of 8-15 a.m. for the first mail bus. Madan Mohan Singh and Shiva Ram filed counter-objections. The R. T. A. thereupon decided to hold a meeting on the 25th Oct., 1956 for consideration of this matter.