N.L.TIBREWAL,J. - (1.) THE question involved, in this petition, relates to the right of a person, to obtain a Stage Carriage or Contract Carriage (including temporary) permit under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') or a special permit under Sub -section (8) of Section 88 to ply a public service vehicle on routes or portions thereof in respect of which a scheme approved under Section 100(3) of the Actor Section 68 -D(3) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Old Act') providing exclusive operation of stage or contract carriages on the said routes by a State Transport Undertaking to the complete exclusion of all other persons has been brought into force. This question arose on issuing permits at the time of Keladevi fair. The prayer made in the writ petition may be reproduced as under: It is, therefore, prayed that the writ petition filed by the petitioner may kindly be allowed and writ of mandamus, or any other appropriate writ, order or direction may kindly be issued to non -petitioners for: (i) Restraining the non -petitioner Nos. 1 to 3 for not issuing any kind of Stage Carriage or Contract Carriage permit in connection with the holding of fair of Shri Keladevi to any private operators for providing his transport services from any point in the State of Uttar Pradesh. (ii) For directing the non -petitioners No. 4 to 6 for not allowing and permitting any transport vehicle of a private operator under a permit issued in connection with the fair of Shri Keladevi by non -petitioners Nos. 1 to 3 and restraining the said non -petitioners from accepting any tax payable under Section 62 of the Act by such operators; (iii) By issuing a Mandamus to non -petitioners Nos. 4 to 6 for not allowing any transport vehicle of a private operator under a permit issued by Non -petitioners Nos. 1 to 3 in connection with the Mela of Shri Keladevi found operating on the notified route or portion thereof laying in the State of Rajasthan and if so found the said vehicle should immediately be seized: Any other writ, order or direction which in the fact and circumstances of the present case, deem fit and proper to pass, may kindly be passed in favour of the petitioner.
(2.) AGRA -Bharatpur Inter -State route is a notified route under the approved and notified scheme of the State of Uttar Pradesh published and notified in Uttar Pradesh Gazette dated 20.2.1963 under Section 68 -D(3) of the Old Act with the previous approval of the Central Government required under the proviso appended to Sub -section (2) of Section 68 -D. The scheme is of total exclusion excluding all the private operators to provide their transport services on the said route or portion thereof. The scheme has been implemented by the State of Uttar Pradesh and the State of Rajasthan and the petitioner -Corporation is operating its transport services on the above route. Similarly, there are following approved schemes of total exclusion duly published in Rajasthan Rajpatra under Section 68 -D(3) of the Old Act and the same has been implemented by the Corporation: S. No. Name of the Routes Portions of the notified routes. Bharatpur - to Mathura2. Bharatpur -Hinduan Bharatpur to Hindaun3. Jaipur -Keladevi Mahuwa to Keladevi On all the above notified routes or any portion thereof mentioned in column No. 3 and also shown in the rough sketch map (Annexure 1) filed by the petitioner in the writ petition, no private operator is entitled to provide any transport services as contended by the petitioner corporation. It may be stated that the above facts about approval of the schemes have not been specifically denied by the non -petitioners, including non -petitioners Nos. 2 and 3 who have filed the return in the writ petition.
(3.) MR . Rajdeepak Rastogi, learned Counsel appearing for the Non -petitioners Nos. 2 and 3 has opposed the writ petition on three grounds : (i) that Keladevi fair was held from 30.3.1992 to 17.4.1992 and since the period is over, the petition has become infructuous; (ii) that temporary permits could be granted by the non -petitioner Nos. 2 and 3 i.e. the Regional Transport Authority (for short 'RTA') or State Transport Authority (for short 'STA') even in case of total exclusion of transport service vehicles on the nationalised route by a private operator; (iii) in any case, a special permit under Sub -section (8) of Section 88 of the Act is not included as a stage carriage permit or a contract carriage permit and the same could be issued by the competent authority on such routes. ;