KHUSHAL DASS Vs. STATE OF RAJASTHAN

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is an existing operator of Ajmer-Mangaliawas-Pisangan route (hereinafter referred to as 'the route') which is 28 miles long. A scheme for the nationalisation of Ajmer-Jodhpur route via Mangaliawas, Beawar and Bilara as approved by the State Government, was published under Section 68-D (3) of the Motor Vehicles Act (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') on August 31, 1962. That scheme was of partial exclusion of the existing operators and the petitioner and his co-operators of Ajmer-Mangaliawas-Pisangan route were allowed to ply their vehicles on the route. Thereafter the aforesaid scheme was modified under Section 68-E (1) read with Section 68-D of the Act by the order of the State Government dated April 30, 1964 and the permits of the petitioner and other operators of the route were rendered ineffective between Ajmer and Mangaliawas, which was the portion over-lapped by the notified route, meaning thereby that a restriction was imposed on the operators of the route in respect of picking up and setting down passengers on the Ajmer-Mangaliawas portion of the notified route. The modified scheme was published under Section 68-D (3) of the Act, by the notification dated July 1, 1964 in the Rajasthan Gazette dated September 3, 1964.

(2.) On July 20, 1974, the aforesaid nationalisation scheme relating to Ajmer- Jodhpur via Mangaliawas, Beawar and Bilara route, was proposed to be further modified by the State Government under Section 68-E (2) of the Act, by providing for the complete exclusion of private operators on the notified route or portions thereof. The consequence of this modification, if it is approved, would be that the permits of the petitioner and other operators of this route would be curtailed for the portion from Ajmer to Mangaliawas, which forms part of the notified route. The petitioner raised certain preliminary objections against the above-mentioned proposal for modification of the approved scheme and the same have been rejected by Shri Sudhindra Gemawat, Deputy Secretary, Home Department, for and on behalf of the State Government, by his order dated November 23, 1974 (Annexure P/7). The present writ petition has been preferred against the aforesaid order rejecting the preliminary objections raised by the petitioner.

(3.) A show cause notice was issued to the respondents and the State Government as well as the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, which is a State Government Undertaking has appeared in response to the show cause notice and have contested the writ petition.