R.A.SHARMA, J. - (1.) Hapur - Kothor route (hereinafter referred to as the route) was notified under Chapter IV-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to as the old Act) for exclusive operation of the road transport service by the U.P. State Road Transport Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Corporation). Under the approved Scheme the Corporation is to operate 30 services daily from each side or more according to the need. The Corporation in pursuance of the above Scheme obtained 10 stage carriage permits in 1987 for operating the service on the route. It appears that the Corporation was not plying its vehicles on the route on account of which there was nasenment in the public and some complaints were also made regarding it. The petitioners also made application for temporary stage carriage permits under Section 104 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as the Act). Those applications having been rejected by the State Transport Authority (hereinafter referred to as the S.T.A.) the petitioners have filed the present writ petition.
(2.) The Corporation has filed a counter-affidavit and the petitioners have filed rejoinder-affidavit in reply thereto. We have heard learned counsel for the parties. Section 104 under of the Act is as under:- "104. Restriction on grant of permits in respect of a notified area or notified route where a scheme has been published under sub-section (3) of Section 100 in respect of any notified area or noticed rout, the State Transport Authority or the Regional Transport Authority, as the case may be, shall not grant provisions of the scheme. Provided that where no application for a permit has been made by the State Transport Undertaking in respect of any notified area or notified route in pursuance of an approved scheme, the State Transport, Authority or the Regional Transport Authority, as the case may be, may grant temporary permits to any person in respect of such notified area for notified route subject to the condition that such permit shall cease to be effective on the issue of a permit to the State Transport Undertaking in respect of the area or route."
(3.) The Transport Authorities cannot grant any permit on the notified route except in accordance with the provisions of the Scheme. If the Scheme is for exclusive operation of the State Transport Undertaking, no permit can be granted to the private operators. This is clear from sub-section (1) of Section 104 of the Act. But its proviso provides for the grant of temporary permits to the private operators in respect of a notified route where no application for permit has been made by the State Road Transport Undertaking.;