- (1.) The appeal by Special Leave is directed against an order dated July 14, 1988, of the Andhra Pradesh High Court dismissing writ petition filed by the appellant.
(2.) The appellant plies a stage carriage under the Motor Vehicle Act, 1939 on the route Chittoor to Paradarami, a distance, we have been told, of 20 Kilometres. It appears that during the validity of the permit under which the vehicle was being plied the Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation published a draft scheme under Section 68-C of the Motor Vehicles Act in respect of the Chittoor- Vellore (via) Katpadi route and invited objections thereto. The scheme mentioned that the holders of stage carriage permits operating on portions of the proposed route would not be affected. It may be mentioned that the route covered by the permit possessed by the appellant was a portion of the proposed route. While the draft scheme was pending the appellant applied for a variation of his permit in as much as he desired an increase in the number of service rendered by him on the route plied by him. The State Transport Authority allowed an increase in the number of services but on appeal the State Transport Appellate Tribunal reversed the order and refused the increase. A writ petition was filed in the High Court by the Appellant, and the High Court rejected the Writ Petition on the ground that the route plied by the appellant formed part of the route which was the subject matter of the draft scheme and that during the pendency of the draft scheme no variation in the conditions of the existing permit would be allowed.
(3.) Having heard learned counsel for the parties, we are of opinion that the High Court erred in taking the view which it did. The draft scheme had not yet been finalised. Objections were to be considered, and it is only after the stage of section 68 D (3) of the Motor Vehicles Act had been reached and the draft scheme approved with or without modification that the scheme could become operative. Order dated January 24, 1989 in Civil Appeal No. 4126 of 1988. Our attention has been drawn to a decision of this court in Pandit an Roadways Corporation Ltd. v. Thiru M.A. Eqappan (1) AIR 1987 S.C. 958 but on a perusal of the judgment in that case it appears that this court was dealing with an approved scheme. Nothing has been shown to us to indicate that until the draft scheme becomes operative as an approved scheme, a variation of the conditions of an existing permit on a portion of the route cannot be made. We may also note that the draft scheme specifically exempted the holders of stage carriage permits already plying on a portion of the route intended to be covered by the scheme.;