Protik Prakash Banerjee, J. - (1.) A short point involved in this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India is whether the writ petitioner is liable to make an application in a prescribed form and pay the fees prescribed in Schedule A to the West Bengal Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989 for his application for change of alignment which is to say, altering the route or area covered by his contract carriage permit for plying an auto-rickshaw.
(2.) Admittedly, the position is that the petitioner had a contract carriage permit as aforesaid for plying his auto-rickshaw within a specified area, and that he made a representation for being allowed to change or alter the said area by way of change of alignment. This was on the ground of financial difficulties caused by battery operated contract carriages plying in the area, which affected his revenue which he apprehended might result in the auto-rickshaw, subject to a hypothecation/finance agreement, being repossessed. It is not disputed that this was the only ground made out in the application. However, he did not pay any fees for the same nor applied in any prescribed form. His contention is that there is no specific rule nor any statutory provision specified in Schedule A to the West Bengal Motor Vehicles Rules 1989 which would require him to pay any fees.
(3.) To appreciate the contention of the writ petitioner, section 80(3) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 is required to be considered: "(3) An application to vary the conditions of any permit, other than an temporary permit, by the inclusion of a new route or routes or a new area or by altering the route or routes or area covered by it, or in the case of a stage carriage permit by increasing the number of trips above the specified maximum or by the variation, extension or curtailment of the route or routes or the area specified in the permit shall be treated as an application for the grant of a new permit: Provided that it shall not be necessary so to treat an application made by the holder of stage carriage permit who provides the only service on any route to increase the frequency of the service so provided without any increase in the number of vehicles: Provided further that, (i) in the case of variation the termini shall not be altered and the distance covered by the variation shall not exceed twenty-four kilometers; (ii) in the case of extension, the distance covered by extension shall not exceed twenty-four kilometers from the termini, and any such variation or extension within such limits shall be made only after the transport authority is satisfied that such variation will serve the convenience of the public and that it is not expedient to grant a separate permit in respect of the original route as so varied or extended or any part thereof.";