BHERULAL Vs. STATE TRANSPORT APPELLATE TRIBUNAL RAJASTHAN JAIPUR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY this petition under Article 226 the petitioners challenges the impugned resolution of the Regional Transport Authority, Udaipur respondent 2 dated 286-1976 granting a temporary stage carriage permit in favour of respondent 3 as well as the order dated 2-8-1976 of the Stale Transport Appellate Tribunal respondent 1 which rejected the revision of the petitioner as not maintainable.

(2.) THERE is a route known as Bhil-wara-Jahazpur via Bigod-Kachola diversion via Paged Mandalgarh. Originally the scope fixed on this route was of 3 stage carriages to perform 2 return trips. The Regional Transport Authority sought to increase it to 5 stage carriages to perform 3 return trips in the year 1970 but a revision against that was allowed by the State Transport Appellate Tribunal which maintaining the increase of return trips to 3 but reduced the increased scope of stage carriages from 5 to 4. The scope thus fixed on the route came to be 4 stage carriages to perform 3 return trips. One of the existing operators on this route filed a petition being Civil Writ No. 1879 of 74 in this Court with the result that no non-temporary stage carriage permit was granted by the regional Transport Authority against the one vacancy which had arisen by the decision of the State Transport Appellate Tribunal. That writ petition was dismissed on 20-4-1976 by this Court. In the meanwhile in October. 1975 the scheme of notified route of Bhitwara to Bundi came to be implemented. The petitioner who was operating on the Bhilwara-Jahazpur route accordingly had his permit curtailed for the portion from Bhilwara to Triveni Chauraya. The petitioner is thus now operating on the curtailed route from Triveni Chauraya to jahazpur, a distance of 40 miles. The previous uncurtailed route from Bhilwara to Jahazpur was about 76 miles.

(3.) ON 26-6-1976 respondent 3 applied for the grant of the temporary permit under Section 62 of the Act. In the column meant for the purpose for which permit was required it was stated "public convenience to meet a particular temporary need. " The route mentioned was Bhilwara to Jahazpur via Begodmandal-garh-Triveni Chauraya-Kachola curtailed Bhilwara to Triveni Chauraya because (being) portion of Section 68-D now Triveni Chauraya to Jahazpur. The said application was taken up for consideration by the respondent 2 in its meeting of 28-6-1976. It was decided that respondent 3 may be given a temporay permit for four months from Triveni Chauraya to Jahazpura via kachola in the existing vacancy. The petitioner being aggrieved against the grant of a temporary permit to respondent 3 filed a revision under Section 64-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, (hereinafter to be called 'the Act' ). Respondent 1 however by the impugned order accepted the preliminary objection of the respondent 3 that as the petitioner could have filed an appeal under Section 64 (1) (f) of the Act and as he had failed to avail of that remedy revision under section 64-A was not maintainable. The petitioner has come up in writ petition against both the orders of respondents 1 and 2.