(1.) Applications were invited by the Regional Transport Authority, Guntur by a notification issued on 26-3-1977 under Sub-section (2) of Section 57 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, (hereinafter referred to as the Act) for the grant of one pucca stage carriage permit to ply on the fair weather route Guntur R. T. C. Bus Stand to Perocherla Junction. In response to the said notification only one application was received from Smt V. Ramanamma, w/o S. Ch. Narasa Reddy, Guntur. The only application received was notified under Section 57 (3) of the Act inviting representations, if any. In response to this notification, Sri B. Sambasiva Rao and Sri S. Ramalingeswara Rao, the two petitioners in this writ petition and two others filed their representations requesting to issue a fresh notification under Section 57 (2) of the Act to enable them also to submit their applications. The first petitioner, namely, B. Sambasiva Rao, however, submitted his application for the grant of pucca permit on 11-8-1977. In that representation he stated that he was already running his idle bus on the same route on the strength of a temporary permit issued to him and requested for the grant of a pucca permit. The Regional Transport Authority, Gtmtur considered the applications on 2-11-1977. The application of the first petitioner was rejected as belated. The application of Smt. S. V. Ramanamma, the third respondent was also rejected stating that she is a benami to her husband who holds two stage carriase permits already,
(2.) The third respondent Smt. S. V. Ramanamma filed an appeal under Section 64 of the Act against the order at the Regional Transport Authority, Gun- tur before the State Transport Appellate Tribunal, Hyderabad. She impleaded only Regional Transport Authority, Gun-tur as the respondent. The State Transport Appellate Tribunal, Hyderabad by its order dated 31-5-1978 granted the permit to Smt. S. V. Ramanannna, Gun-tur. In pursuance of the order of the State Transport Appellate Tribunal Hyderabad a pucca stage carriage permit was issued to the third respondent to ply on the fair weather route Guntur R. T. C. Bus Stand to Pere-cherla Junction. The petitioners have now filed this writ petition seeking to quash the grant of permit issued in favour of the third respondent.
(3.) The principal and the foremost contention of the learned Counsel for the petitioners is that the State Transport Appellate Tribunal acted illegally by allowing the appeal of the third respondent without giving any notice to the petitioners who had made representations under Section 59 (3) of the Act. on the basis of which, the Regional Transport Authority. Guntur relected the application of the third respondent tor the grant of a permit. It is his conten-tion that the petitioners an sucessful parties before the Regional Transport Authority. Gutur since they sucessfully prevented the grant of a permit in lav's our of the third respondent and, therefore, they ought to haw been impleaded as respondents before the State Tranasor Appellate Tribunal, Hyderabad by the third respondent under Rule 6 (c) of the Andhra Pradesh State Transport Appellate Tribunal Roles, 1971. He also in support of his submission relied on two unreported decisions of this Court in Writ Petition No. 753 of 1969, D/-1-2-1971 and Writ Petition No. 1023 of 1971, D/- 8-12-1071.