M N SHARMA Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) A common question of law arises for determination. in all these applications which have been heard together, namely, whether the order of the Minister of Transport of the Bihar Government, dated 4-10-1958, made under Section 64A of the Motor Vehicles Act, as introduced by the Bihar Amendment (Bihar Act XXVII of 1950) is illegal because the application was made by the Rajya Transport, opposite party No. 4, on 25-3-1957, long after the period of limitation as prescribed by the section had expired. Section 64A of the Motor Vehicles Act, as introduced by the Bihar Amendment, is in the following terms :

(2.) It is the admitted position that in all these cases the respective petitioners filed appeals under Section 64 of the Motor Vehicles Act before the State Transport Appellate Authority against the order of the East Bihar Regional Transport Authority, Bhagalpur, refusing the renewal of the permits. The appeals were heard by the State Transport Ap-pellate Authority and on 25-1-1957, the appeals were allowed by a joint judgment, and the applications of the petitioners for renewal of their permits were granted with regard to the routes in question. On 25-3-1957, opposite party No. 4, Rajya Transport, Bihar, made an application to the State Government for a revision of the order of tho State Transport Appellate Authority. The application was heard by the Transport Minister on 10-7-1958. On 4-10-1958, the application was allowed by the Transport Minister and the order of the State Transport Appellate Authority in favour of the petitioners was set aside. An argument was advanced on behalf of the petitioners before the Minister of Transport that the application of the Rajya Transport under Section 64A was barred by limitation. This argument was rejected by the Minister of Transport on the ground that the order of the State Transport Appellate Authority was communicated to the parties on 23-2-1957 and so the representation of the Rajya Transport made on 25-3-1957 was within! the time-limit of thirty days prescribed by Section 64A of the Motor Vehicles Act.

(3.) On behalf of the petitioners the main argument put forward by learned counsel is that the Minister of Transport had no jurisdiction to entertain or to dispose of the application of the Rajya Transport under Section 64A of the Motor Vehicles Act, because the application under this section was made by the Rajya Transport to the State Government beyond the period of thirty days "of the passing of the order" by the State Transport Appellate Authority. In our opinion there is no merit in this argument. It is true that Section 64A of the Bihar Amendment imposes a limit of thirty days for the presentation of an application under Section 64A from the order of the State Transport Appellate Authority. But the language of Section 64A must be read in the context of Section 12(2) of the Limitation Act, which is in the following terms :