K.N.Singh, J. - (1.) A Division Bench of this Court has referred this petition and the other three connected petitions to a larger Bench as it did not agree with the view of another Division Bench of this Court in Shashi Kant Rai v. Regional Transport Authority (AIR 1978 All 68) .
(2.) On 13-12-1960 the State Transport Undertaking issued a notification under Section 68-C of the Motor Vehicles Act (hereinafter referred to as the Act) publishing a scheme for the exclusive plying of its stage carriage vehicles on five different routes of Agra region, namely, (1) Etah-Farrukhabad, (2) Etah-Daryaganj, (3) Farrukhabad-Shamshabad, (4) Etah-Ganjdundwara and (5) Farrukhabad-Kampil. The petitioners, who were permit-holders for plying their stage carriages on the routes filed objections to the Scheme. Their main objection was that the number of services proposed to be rendered on the routes in question was not specified in the notification published under Section 68-C of the Act, as a result of which the scheme was invalid. The hearing authority, acting on behalf of the State Government, approved the scheme under Section 68-D (2) of the Act by its order dated 27-4-1962, thereupon the State Government published the approved scheme in the gazette under its notification dated 1-4-1963 under Section 68-D (3) of the Act. The petitioners challenged the validity of the scheme before this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution by means of writ petitions. A single Judge allowed the writ petitions on the finding that the rules of natural justice were not followed in the enquiry held by the hearing authority, as the petitioners were not afforded opportunity of hearing. The learned single Judge quashed the order of the hearing authority as well as the notification dated April 1, 1983, published under Section 68-D (3) of the Act and directed the hearing authority to hold a fresh enquiry and to give opportunity of hearing to the objectors. The judgment of the learned single Judge was affirmed in Special Appeal by a Division Bench of this Court.
(3.) In pursuance of the orders of this Court the hearing authority held enquiry afresh and afforded opportunity of hearing to the petitioners. On completion of enquiry the hearing authority approved the scheme by its order dated December 29, 1972. The State Government thereupon published the approved scheme in the official gazette dated December 24, 1977, under its notification dated November 8, 1977, in accordance with Section 68-D (3) of the Act. The approved scheme as well as the scheme under Section 68-C of the Act do not contain particulars of the services proposed to be rendered by the State Transport Undertaking on the routes in question. The petitioners have by means of these petitions challenged the validity of the approved scheme and also the order of the hearing authority approving the scheme on a number of grounds. The writ petitions came up for hearing before a Division Bench of this Court. On behalf of the petitioners it was urged before the Division Bench that the scheme suffers from defects as pointed out by this Court in State of U. P. v. Shashi Kant Rai (AIR 1976 All 315) and further that the provisions of U. P. Act 27 of 1976 failed to amend Section 68-C of the Motor Vehicles Act and as such the scheme continued to be invalid. Reliance was placed on the decision of another Division Bench of this Court in Shashi Kant Rai v. Regional Transport Authority (AIR 1978 All 68) . The Bench hearing the writ petitions did not agree with the view taken by the Division Bench in AIR 1978 All 68. Therefore, it referred these petitions to a larger Bench and that is how these petitions have been heard by this Bench.;