RSRTC, JAIPUR Vs. RTAT, JAIPUR AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This batch of writ petitions is preferred by the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation (for short 'the corporation') to question correctness of the judgment dated 25.6.2013 passed by learned State Transport Appellate Tribunal, Jaipur (for short 'the Tribunal').

(2.) Briefly stated, facts of the case are that the Governments of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan entered into an inter State Transport agreement in the year 2001 wherein the route from Nimbahera to Nimach and Pratapgarh to Mandsore (for short 'the disputed routes') were notified and placed in Schedule-'B'. The corporation was having a permit to ply buses on the disputed routes. The permit of the corporation was renewed by the Regional Transport Authority (for short 'the RTA') on 17.5.2012 for next five years.

(3.) A new inter State Transport agreement was executed between the Government of Madhya Pradesh and the Government of Rajasthan on 20.7.2007 placing the disputed routes were placed in Schedule-'A', as such were declared non-notified routes. As per subclauses (4) and (20) of clause (4) of the agreement, the renewal of permit made in favour of the corporation remained in currency and that came to an end on 17.5.2012. The corporation prior to that preferred an application for further renewal of the same as per Section 81 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short 'the Act of 1988'). Certain private operators raised objections with regard to maintainability of the renewal application on the count that the renewal at the most could have been made for a period of five years and that was already availed by the corporation in the year 2007. As per the private operators, the corporation could have submitted an application for grant of fresh permit as per Section 71 of the Act of 1988, but not for renewal under Section 81 aforesaid.