Sarkar, J. - (1.) The petitioner is a co-operative society duly registered and it carries on the business of playing motor buses as stage carriages on the public highways in the State of Bombay. Its case in this petition is that it has been deprived of its right to carry on this business and has also been subjected to discriminatory treatment in the matter of the grant of permits to run its buses. It complains of the infringement of its fundamental rights under Arts. 19 (1) (g) and 14 of the Constitution.
(2.) The questions raised in this matter turn on some of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, as amended by Act 100 of 1956. These provisions have to be examined before proceeding to discuss the mined before proceeding to discuss the question that arise. We are concerned only with Chapters IV and IVA of the Act Chapter IV comprises Ss. 42 to 68 and Chapter IVA, which was in its entirety introduced by the amending Act, consists of Ss. 68A to 68-I.
(3.) Taking Chapter IV first, we find that S. 42 (1) provides that no owner of a transport vehicle shall use or permit the use of the vehicle in any public place save in accordance with the conditions of a permit granted under the Act. A "transport vehicle" is defined in S. 2 (33) as a public service vehicle or a goods vehicle. Clause (a) of sub-sec. (3) of S. 42 as it originally stood provide that sub-sec. (1) of that section would not apply to any transport vehicle owned by or on behalf of the Central Government or a State Government other than a vehicle used in connection with the business of a railway. So under it the Government could ply stage carriages on the public highways without having to obtain permits in respect of them. The amending Act of 1956 substituted a new clause (a) in S .42 (3) for the old clause. The new cl. (a) provides that sub-sec. (1) shall not apply to any transport vehicle owned by the Central Government or a State Government and used for Government purposes unconnected with any commercial enterprise. Since the amendment therefore, the Government cannot run state carriages on the public highways without a permit, just as a private owner of stage carriages cannot do because such use of the vehicles will not be for a purpose unconnected with a commercial enterprise. Section 44 authorises a State Government to constitute a State Transport Authority and Regional Transport Authorities for different areas in that State to carry out the duties specified. Section 45 provides that every application for a permit shall be made to the Regional Transport Authority of the region in which it is proposed to use the vehicle. Section 47 specifies the matters to which a Regional Transport Authority shall have regard in considering an application for the grant of a permit.;