DINESH SARKAR Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a second round of litigation by the petitioners, who are the owners of the stage carriage buses plying on Agartala - Narsingarh route. The petitioners were granted permit and pursuant to that they were plying their buses from Narsingarh to Agartala and back. At Agartala, the permit holders were allowed to use the bus stand known as Agartala Motor Stand. However, by notification dated 5.9.1996 the State Transport Authority shifted the Bus Stand to newly established stand, namely, Radhanagar Bus Stand and notified that the North Bound vehicles, which includes the stage carriage vehicles of the petitioners, shall use the Radhanagar Bus Stand and they will not be allowed to proceed beyond the said bus stand which is at a distance of about 2 k.m. from the earlier bus stand. A notification to that effect was issued by the District Magistrate, West Tripura, Agartala on 22.11.1995 and a public notification was also issued which reads as follows :

(2.) The above notification was challenged by the petitioners under the forum of Narsingarh Mini Bus Owners Syndicate in Civil Rule No. 43/ 1997 and the said writ petition was dismissed by the learned Single Judge vide order dated 30.9.1997. The petitioners thereafter preferred a writ appeal being Writ Appeal No. 568/97 and appellate court vide order dated 12.11.1997 disposed of the appeal by modifying the judgment. The directions given by the Division Bench reads as follows : -

(3.) Pursuant to the direction of this court, the State Transport Authority, upon hearing the petitioners, rejected the objections raised by them and vide impugned order dated 11.11.1998 directed as follows :-