M/S. ZAMIDARA TRANSPORT CO OPERATIVE SOCIETY LTD., SRI GANGANAGAR AND ANOTHER Vs. THE STATE TRANSPORT, APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, RAJASTHAN AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Both these writ petitions are directed against the order dated 19th Sept., 1978, passed by the State Transport Appellate Tribunal, hereinafter referred' to as the Tribunal)' whereby the appeals of the petition were dismissed and a temporary' permit for a period of four months was granted to the Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation, (hereinafter referred to at the 'Corporation') on the Hanumangarh-Moga via, Abhore route.

(2.) Hanumangarh-Moga route is an inter-state route which lies partly in the State of Raj. and partly in. the State of Punjab. A reciprocal transport agreement has been arrived at between the two States in-regard to grant of permits on the said route by each. State but as the said agreement has not yet been formally notified by the two Governments, it has been agreed that bus services be started on temporary basis with effect from 1st May, 1975 and in pursuance of the said agreement two temporary permits are being granted by the Regional Transport Authority, Bikaner on the said route. During the period, from July 1975 to July 1976, both the temporary permits were granted to the Corporation. By its notification dated July 8, 1976, the Regional Transport Authority granted one temporary permit for a period of four months to petitioner Sardarilal and the other temporary permit was granted to the Corporation. Since then, one of the two temporary permits is being granted to the Corporation and the other temporary permit was being granted to petitioner Sardarilal. The temporary permit which had been granted in favour of Sardarilal was to expire on May 14, 1978, and the petitioners as well as the Corporation submitted applications for the grant of a temporary permit. The Regional Transport Authority, by its resolution dated 9th May, 1978, granted the temporary permit to the Corporation and rejected the application of Sardarilal. It appears that the application of M/s Zamidara Transport Cooperative Society Limited (hereinafter referred to as the petitioner Society), was not considered by The Regional Transport Authority while passing the resolution dated 9th May, 1978, granting the temporary permit in favour of the Corporation. Aggrieved by the resolution of the Regional Transport Authority, both the petitioners filed appeals before the Tribunal and the Tribunal, by its order dated 3rd June, 1978, allowed the appeal of the petitioner Society and granted one temporary permit for a period of four months to the petitioner Society. The appeal of petitioner Sardarilal was, however, rejected by the Tribunal. The Tribunal in allowing the appeal of the petitioner Society, proceeded on the basis that the petitioner Society had offered to put a vehicle of 1978 model, whereas the other applicants, viz. Sardarilal and the Corporation had offered vehicles of 1977 model. Subsequently, after the-passing of the order of the Tribunal, dated 3rd June, 1978, the petitioner Society on 5th June, 1978, submitted an application before the Tribunal wherein it was stated that the vehicle bearing No.. RSK, 9698 which had been offered by the petitioner Society was of 1976 model and not 1978 model and that the petitioner Society was willing to engage another bus of 1978 model but the building of the body of the said bus was likely to take sometime and that till then it was prayed that the petitioner Society may be allowed to avail the temporary permit granted to it on the aforesaid 1976 model bus. The said application of the petitioner Society was rejected by the Tribunal by its order dated June 7, 1978 on the view that the merits of the parties had been assessed on the assumption that the petitioner Society had offered a vehicle No. RSK 9698 of 1978 model and the said mistake could not be rectified. Two writ petitions (Civil Writ Petitions No. 396 of 1978 and 385 of 1978) were filed by the Corporation and petitioner Sardarilal against the order of the Tribunal dated 3rd June, 1978, granting a temporary permit in favour of the petitioner Society. Both these writ petitions were disposed of by this Court by its judgment dated Aug. 2, 1978, whereby the writ petitions were allowed and the order dated 3rd June, 1978, passed by the Tribunal was quashed. By the judgment of this Court, the Tribunal was directed to decide the matter afresh and releases the comparative merits of the claimants again after affording to the parties an opportunity of hearing. In its judgment aforesaid, this Court observed that the petitioner Society had been running its 1978 model bus on the route since June 13, 1978 and that public convenience would suffer if the Society had to stop plying its vehicle on the route, even before the final decision of the matter by the Tribunal, and this Court directed that the petitioner Society be allowed to continue to ply its 1978 model vehicle on the route until Aug. 28, 1978. In pursuance of the order of this Court, the matter went back to the Tribunal and the Tribunal, after considering the merits of all three claimants namely; the two petitioners and the Corporation, passed the order dated 19th Sept., 1978 whereby it decided that the Corporation is best suited for the grant of the permit and directed that a temporary permit for a period of four months may be granted to the Corporation and that the period of four months shall be calculates from the date the Corporation obtains temporary permit in respect of any vehicle of 1978 model. Aggrieved by the said order of the Tribunal, dated 19th Sept., 1978, the petitioners have filed these two writ petitions.

(3.) Shri R.R. Vyas, the learned counsel for the petitioner Society, who has advanced the, main arguments, has urged the following contentions:-