M.C. Desai, J. - (1.) In this petition the petitioner challenges an order of the Regional Transport officer, Kanpur, opposite party No. 1, granting a temporary permit to opposite party no. 2. On 3-3-1958 opposite party No. I granted a temporary stage carriage permit for four months to opposite party no. 2 for Lalitpur Tikamgarh route, which is an interstate route, for plying bus no. U. P. U. 245 belonging to the petitioner. The route was an occupied and not a new route. Two permits (permanent) issued to one Marfatia and another person for plying buses on the route were cancelled and consequently two vacancies occurred and a notice inviting applications for permits on or by 31-5-1958 was published on 10-5-1958. On 30-5-1958 opposite party no. 2 applied for a (permanent) permit to ply bus no. U.P.U. 245 on the route, and on 31-5-1958 the petitioner applied to ply another bus on the same route in response to the notice. The temporary permit granted to opposite party no. 2 expired on 3-7-1958 and on 4-7-1958 he applied to opposite party No. 1 for another temporary permit for four months and got it. On 20th September, 1958, all applications for (permanent) permits received in response to the notice, including the two applications referred to above, were published in the Gazette. On 10-10-1958 the petitioner filed an objection before opposite party no. 1 challenging the validity of the temporary permit granted to opposite party no. 2 on 4-7-1958. On 8-11-1958 opposite party no. 2 applied (for, and got, a temporary permit for four months for plying another vehicle no. U. S. G. 846 on the route. The applications made for (permanent) permits for the route in response to the notice were all pending on 8-11-1958 and are still pending today, because of an order issued by this Court in a writ petition filed by Marfatia challenging the cancellation of his (permanent) permit.
(2.) The two buses, U.P.U. 245 and U S.G. 846 are stage carriages as defined in Sec. 2 of the Motor Vehicles Act (No. IV of 1939). No owner of a stage carriage can use it in any public place save in accordance with the conditions of a permit granted or counter signed by the Regional or State Transport Authority; see Sec. 42. An application for a permit should be made to the Regional Transport Authority and should contain the particulars mentioned in Sec. 46. The Regional Transport Authority is authorised by Sec. 48 Sub-Sec. (1) to grant a permit and sub-Sec. (3) authorises it to impose any of certain conditions. A permit is valid for such period, not less than three years and not more than five years, as the Regional Transport Authority may specify in the permit but the "permit may be renewed on an application made and disposed of as if it were an application for a permit" see Sec. 58 (1) (a) and (2). The procedure for applying for and granting a permit is laid down in Sec. 57 (2), (3) etc. Sub-Sec. (8) is to the effect that "an application to vary the conditions of any permit, other than a temporary permit, by the inclusion of a new route or routes or a new area or by increasing the number of services above the prescribed maximum shall be treated as an application for the grant of a new permit. "These are the relevant provisions regarding stage carriage permits in the Act; there are similar provisions regarding contract carriage permits and public carrier permits. Sec. 62 deals with temporary "permits;" a Regional Transport Authority may without following the procedure laid down in Sec. 57 grant permits to be effective for a limited period not in any case to exceed four months, to authorise the use of a transport vehicle" (which includes a contract carriage, a stage carriage and a public carrier) temporarily for any of the three specified objects on such conditions as may be imposed, or "pending decision on an application for the renewal of a permit." This power is subject to two provisions (I) "that a temporary permit shall, in no case, be granted in respect of any route or area specified in an application for the grant of a new permit under Sec. 46 during the pendency of the application" and (2) "that a temporary permit shall, in no case, be granted more than once in respect of any route or area specified in an application for the renewal of a permit during the pendency of such application for renewal."
(3.) The above provisions show that the Act recognizes two kinds of stage carriage permits, (I) ordinary or regular permits referred to in Sec. 46, 47, 48, 57 and 58 and (2) temporary permits referred to in Sec. 62. I am describing the former class of permits as "permanent" permits to distinguish them from "temporary" permits. The Act does not recognise any third kind of permits such as "new permits." The words "new permit" have been used in Sec. 62, proviso one, and Sec. 57 (8) but they do not mean a permit different from the permit referred to in Secs. 46, 47 and 48 etc. In Sec. 62, proviso one, the word "new" has been prefixed to the word "permit" simply to distinguish it from renewed permit. The two provisos govern the whole of Sec. 62, under which temporary permits are granted - granted either for any of the three Specified objects or during the pendency of an application for the renewal of a permit about to expire. An application for a temporary permit may be made when some application is pending or when no application is pending. When no application is pending, the legislature has authorised the Regional Transport Authority to grant temporary permits without any restriction, provided they are granted for any of the specified objects. When some application is pending, it may be either for a permanent permit or for the renewal of a permanent permit about to expire or for a temporary permit. The legislature did not at all contemplate that there might be an occasion for the issue of a temporary permit during the pendency of an application for a temporary permit it would be wholly enomalous to grant a temporary permit pending consideration on an application for a temporary permit. No procedure is prescribed for the disposal of an application for a temporary permit; it can be granted as soon as it is applied for and the legislature did not contemplate any substantial time to intervene between applying for a temporary permit and passing orders on the application. The Legislature's policy is against the grant of a temporary permit when an application for a permanent permit is pending; it insists on the prompt disposal of applications for a permanent permit and erasures this by forbidding the grant of temporary permits during the pendency of such applications. If an application for the renewal of a permit is pending, the legislature does not want more than one temporary permit to be granted. It recognizes (vide note to sec. 62) that sometimes the disposal of an application for the renewal of a permit may be delayed and, therefore, has provided for the grant of a temporary permit during its pendency. The legislatures policy is given effect to through the two provisos, one forbidding the grant of a temporary permit during the pendency of an application for a permanent permit and the other for bidding the grant of more than one temporary permit during the pendency of an application for the renewal of a permit. In the first proviso the word "new" is used to distinguish the application from an application for mere renewal of a permit, which is dealt with in the second proviso. The words "an application under Sec. 54" in the first proviso do not confer any right to apply for a new permit; instead they expressly refer to an application, the right to make which is conferred by Secs. 46 and 54.;