KATARI SATYANARAYANA RAO Vs. REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY KRISHNA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this batch of petitions filed under Article 226 of the Constitution, identical questions arise for decision, and it will be convenient to dispose of them in a .common judgment. Some of the individual petitions also raise other subsidiary questions and we will deal with them separately.

(2.) The petitioners were operators of stage carriages in the district of Krishna. They had stage carriage permits for the various routes granted to them some years ago. When the terms of their latest permits were about to expire, they applied for renewal as required under law. Their applications were notified under section 57 and they were granted temporary permits. In the meantime, steps were taken by the State Government to formulate a scheme under Chapter IV-A of the Motor Vehicles Act which was finally approved and published in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette, dated January, 9, 1958. The State Government also established a Road Transport Corporation, called the Andhra Pradesh Road Transport Corporation, under the Road Transport Corporation Act (LXI of 1950) with effect from January 11, 1958. This Corporation was empowered to take over the management of the erstwhile Road Transport Department which was implementing the schemes of nationalization of bus transport under a phased programme. The transport operators, who were plying their vehicles on various routes, in the Krishna district, filed an application before the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution for the enforcement of their fundamental rights to carry on their business of motor transport and for quashing the scheme as approved, on various grounds. Their Lordships of the Supreme Court rejected most of the objections raised by the operators except in regard to the objection pertaining to the hearing given by the Secretary in charge of the Transport Department. This resulted in quashing the order of the Government approving the scheme and directing the Government to forbear from taking over any of the routes on which the operators were plying their buses. Thereafter, on December 19, 1958, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh heard the objections of the operators and the Corporation and approved the scheme which was duly published in the Official Gazette on December 22,1958. On the following day, the Corporation applied to the Road Transport Authority for the issue of permits for plying their stage carriages on certain routes and for eliminating the permits granted to the private operators. The Regional Transport Authority thereupon passed an order rendering ineffective certain of the permits. The routes on which the petitioners were operating their buses were included in the order of the Regional Transport Authority. While so, the operators filed petitions in this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution for quashing the abovementioned orders. This Court dismissed their petitions on March 5, 1959. Against the said judgment, the operators preferred appeals to the Supreme Court.

(3.) To complete the narrative, pending final disposal of their appeals, the operators moved the Supreme Court for stay of the further operation of the scheme. On April 3, 1959, their Lordships of the Supreme Court passed an order which, in so far as it is material, reads as follows :- "That pending the hearing and final disposal of the appeals abovementioned by this Court the State of Andhra Pradesh be and is hereby restrained from rendering ineffective the petitioners' permits which have not already been rendered ineffective from any day prior to 3rd April, 1959, under the scheme of Road Transport Services of Andhra Pradesh Roaed Transport No. T. 6/10/57, dated the 5th November, 1957, as approved by the Government of Andhra Pradesh in G.O. Ms. No, 2948 Home (Transport-I), dated the 22nd December, 1958."