THOTA SRINIVASA RAO Vs. STATE TRANSPORT APPELLATE TRIBUNAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These two writ appeals arise out of a common order of the learned single Judge, and as such, they are disposed of conjointly by this judgment.

(2.) The factual skeletal matrix that is not in dispute and necessary to dispose of these appeals is as follows: The appellant originally was granted a permit to ply his bus on the Town Service Route - Tanuku Women's College to Tanuku Women's' College via Old Bus Stand and Velpur (known as circular route). The appellant filed an application before the Regional Transport Authority, West Godavari, seeking variation of the said route by curtailing 6.6 Kms. from Old Bus Stand to Velpur and extending it upto 9.5 Kms. from Velpur to Attili via Relangi. The total length of the route after curtailment and extension is 17.8 Kms. Whereas in the original permit, the length of the entire route is only 15.4 Kms. The Regional Transport Authority declined to grant the variation. Against that, the appellant took the matter in appeal before the State Transport Appellate Tribunal. The appellate Tribunal allowed the appeal and directed grant of variation of permit to the appellant after obtaining prior permission from the Transport Commissioner. When the matter was placed before the Transport Commissioner for his approval, he rejected the permission on the ground that the entire route overlapped the notified route of APSRTC and that it was more mofussil in nature.

(3.) In the meanwhile, against the order of the appellate Tribunal directing grant of variation of permit to the appellant, the APSRTC approached this Court by filing W.P. No.20070 of 1994, and against the order of the Transport Commissioner, declining to accord permission for variation of the route, the appellant filed W.P. No.2735 of 1997 before this Court. Since facts in both the writ petitions were interconnected, the learned single Judge disposed them of together with a common order, against which, the present writ appeals have been filed.