ABDUL AZIZ SEKH Vs. SIRAJ UDDIN MOLLAH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The question, which arise for consideration in these appeals, inter alia, is as to whether the State Government in exercise of its power conferred upon it under Chapter IVA of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 can issue permit to the stage carriage operators in exclusion to the State Government Undertakings or not

(2.) The basic fact of the matter is not in dispute.

(3.) On 19-8-1963 the State Government issued a Scheme in terms of Section 68C of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 whereby any whereunder various routes as specified therein were nationalised. The said Scheme was modified in the year 1980 in terms whereof only private operators 3 were permitted to ply their stage carriages in the routes specified therein to the exclusion of the State Transport Undertaking. In the said Notification the number of permits to be granted in relation to the routes in question was also specified. However, after Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 was enacted by the Parliament, the concerned Regional Transport Authorities keeping in view the decision of the Apex Court in Mithilesh Garg v. Union of India, reported in AIR 1992 SC 443 had started granting permits to the private operators without any restriction whatsoever.