- (1.) THE State Transport Authority decided to issue one stage carriage permit to ply a passenger bus on the Delhi-Lampur Route via Alipur and Narela and on 30-3-1957 invited applications for this purpose. The State Transport Authority received 16 or 17 applications. It held various sittings-and on 23-5-1958 ordered that the permit be issued to Nav Hind Finance and Transport (Private) Limited. An appeal against this order lay to tbe Chief Commissioner, Delhi. Eight of the applicants appealed to the Chief Commissioner who by order dated 17-12-1958 accepted the appeal of Delhi Ex-Servicemen Co-operative Multipurpose, Society Limited and granted the permit to it cancelling the permit of Nav Hind Finance and Transport (Private) Limited. He dismissed all the other appeals. Dissatisfied with this decision separate applications under article 226 of the Constitution have been filed by (1) Nav Hind Finance and Transport (Private)Limited, (2) The Prabhat Bus Service (Private) Limited (3) The Soldiers United Motor Transport company (Private), Limited, (4) The Crown Co-operative Trans-port Society Limited and (5)Raja Singh Bhasin. As the points involved are largely common to all these petitions and as the authorities under the Motor Vehicles Act have also decided these cases by one common order it will be convenient to decide all these petitions by this judgment.
(2.) IN the present case the procedure adopted by the State Transport Authority or the Chief commissioner has not been challenged before me. It follows, therefore that both the authorities gave full hearing to the petitioners. The validity of the order of the Chief Commissioner is challenged only on the ground that it contains errors on the face of the order because (1) he has misconstrued the provisions of Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act and because (2) he has relied on reasons which are extraneous to and beyond the scope of Section 47 or the purpose underlying that section.
(3.) NOW the State Transport Authority laid down certain criteria for determining as to who out of the applicants should be granted the permit. The qualifying criteria were stated to be (1 experience of stage carriage operations, (2) financial position and stability and (3) efficiency or management. Disqualifying criteria were stated to be (1) predominance of inter-related persons as shareholders and (2) possession of unduly large number of permits. After considering these criteria in detail the State Transport Authority granted permit to Nav Hind Finance and Transport (Private) Limited as staled above.;