Satish Kumar Mittal, J. - (1.) THE petitioner has filed this petition under Article 226/227 of the Constitution of India for quashing the order dated 2.1.2004 passed by the State Transport Commissioner -cum -Regional Transport Authority, Punjab (respondent No. 2 herein) whereby the claim of the petitioner for grant of stage carriage permit to operate one return trip on Talwara -Ludhiana via Mukerian, Dasuya, Tanda, Bhogpur, Jalandhar, Phagwara, Phillaur route (hereinafter referred to as 'the route in question) has been declined and the same route was granted to Ravinder Singh and Jagrup Singh sons of Shingara Singh (respondent No. 5 herein); and the order dated 24.3.2006 whereby the appeal filed by the petitioner against the aforesaid order has been dismissed by the State Transport Appellate Tribunal.
(2.) IN this case, undisputedly, the applications were invited for grant of three stage carriage permits to operate three return trips on the route in question vide notice dated 22.12.2002 published in the Motor Transport Gazette, Weekly, Chandigarh. In response to the said notice, 52 applicants, including the petitioner, applied for the grant of said carriage permits. The Regional Transport Authority decided to allot two permits to the existing operators and one permit to the new entrants. Further, as per the transport Scheme dated 9.8.1990 which was further modified on 21.10.1997, two stage carriage permits were to be allotted to the State Transport Undertaking because the entire portion of the route in question except the portion from Talwara to Mukerian falls on the National Highway. Since no State Transport Undertaking applied for the route in question, therefore, the Regional Transport Authority decided to allot all the three permits in question in favour of deserving private operators. After taking into consideration the claim of various persons, three applicants, namely, Kartar Bus Service Limited, Shankar Bhagwan Bus Service Private Limited and Shri Ravinder Singh and Jagrup Singh (respondent No. 5 herein) were granted permits on the route in question. Two applicants, namely, Kartar Bus Service Limited and Shanker Bhagwan Bus Service Private Limited were granted permits meant for existing operators and the third permit was granted to Shri Ravinder Singh and Jagrup Singh as new entrants. The petitioner, who also claimed the aforesaid permit in the category of new entrants, feeling aggrieved against the grant of permit to Shri Ravinder Singh and Jagrup Singh, filed an appeal before the State Transport Appellate Tribunal. The said appeal was dismissed by the Tribunal vide order dated March 24, 2006. Hence, this petition.
(3.) COUNSEL for the petitioner made three fold submission. Firstly, that the petitioner was more meritorious than respondent No. 5. Secondly, that during the pendency of the present writ petition, respondent No. 5 has transferred the permit in question in favour of Jagjit Singh son of Jaspal Singh and Jaspal Singh son of Bachan Singh. Thirdly, that respondent No. 5 was wrongly treated as new entrant while granting the permit whereas they were already having some permits.;