NARAYAN CHANDRA Vs. STATE TRANSPORT AUTHORITY

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The issues whether an application for renewal of the contract carriage permit can be refused on the consideration of past conduct of the permit holder and whether before such order of refusal is passed, the applicant is entitled to a hearing are questions which fail for decision in this application made under Arts.226 and 227 of the Constitution.

(2.) The facts adumbrated are that the petitioner, before expiry of his All Orissa Contract Carriage Permit, had applied for renewal of the permit. No representations had been filed against such renewal application, but the Chairman, State Transport Authority, Orissa, by his order dt. 27-5-1985 (Annexure-1) rejected the application on basis of the V.C.R. (Vehicle check report) statements showing that the vehicle had been found on three occasions being utilised as stage carriage and on few occasions it had been found plying with passengers in excess as of the prescribed seating capacity. An appeal was carried by the petitioner before the State Transport Appellate Tribunal, Orissa which was also rejected holding that on several previous occasions the petitioner's vehicle had been found to be plying in contravention of the permit conditions by either being used as a stage carriage vehicle or overloading the same, which offences he had compounded by paying penalty and hence the application had been rightly rejected. Besides the Tribunal also held there was no necessity of observance of the principles of natural justice since in view of the established facts, there was no explanation which could have been submitted by the petitioner against the allegations.

(3.) So far as the first contention is concerned, it would be useful to refer to some of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act (briefly, the Act) and the Orissa Rules framed thereunder. An application for permit to use a vehicle as a contract carriage is made under S.49 of the Act. The Regional Transport Authority grants the permit under S.51 of the Act and in so granting, may burden the permit with any one or more of the conditions set out in the Section. S.57(1) states that an application for contract carriage permit may be made at any time and S.58(2) directs that an application for renewal of a permit has to be made not less than sixty days before the expiry of the permit and has to be disposed of as if it were an application of a permit. The renewal applications are entitled preference over new applications. S.57(6) stipulates that :-