D.P. Gupta, J. - (1.) On the Karauli -Narainpur Tatwada bus route (hereinafter referred to as the route) Laxmichand respondent No. 3 had a non -temporary stage carriage permit, which was valid upto August 19, 1974. Laxmichand submitted an application for renewal of his permit on June 15, 1974 which was late by 54 days, in accordance with the limitation prescribed for filing of such applications for renewal of stage carriage permits, under the first proviso to sub Sec. (2) of Sec. 58 of the Motor Vehicles Act (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act'). As the application of Laxmichand was late by more than 15 days, the Regional Transport Authority, Jaipur (hereinafter referred to as 'the R.T.A.') rejected the said application for renewal of permit as time barred, by its order dated June 24, 1974. Thereafter, the R.T.A. proceeded to notify one vacancy on the route, which was caused on account of the rejection of the application of renewal of the permit of Laxmi Chand, by its notification published in the Rajasthan Gazette dated July 25, 1974 and invited applications within a period of 30 days of the publication of the aforesaid notification in the Rajasthan Gazette. The petitioner was one of she applicants for the grant of a fresh non -temporary stage carriage permit on the route in the aforesaid vacancy and his application was also published in the Rajasthan Gazette under Sec. 57(3) of the Act inviting objections in respect thereof, by the notification of the R.T.A. dated August 12, 1974. The petitioner's case is that no one filed any objections or representations within the meaning of Sec. 57(4) of the Act in respect of his application for the grant of a permit on the route. By its notification dated August 29, 1974 the R.T.A. notified that the applications for the grant of a fresh stage carriage permit on the route would be considered at the meeting of the Authority to be held on October 21/22, 1974. It appears that the aforesaid meeting was adjourned to October 29, 1974 and on that date, the matter relating to the grant of stage carriage permit on the route was considered by the R.T.A. and a permit was granted to the petitioner, in the vacancy caused on account of the refusal to renew the permit of the respondent No. 3, Laxmichand. The Secretary, R.T.A., also issued a permit to the petitioner on the route on November 23, 1974 in pursuance of the aforesaid decision of the R.T.A. dated October 29, 1974.
(2.) Laxmichand respondent No. 3 preferred a revision petition under Sec. 64A of the Act, against the aforesaid order of the R.T.A. dated October 29, 1974 granting a permit to the petitioner, before the State Transport Appellate Tribunal, Rajasthan (hereinafter referred to as 'the Tribunal'), which heard the revision petition after notice to the petitioner. Laxmichand submitted before the Tribunal that after the rejection of the application for the renewal of his permit by the R.T.A. on June 24, 1974, he submitted an application for condonation of delay in filing the aforesaid renewal application and that application was also rejected by the R.T.A. by its order dated August 28, 1974 and that thereafter he also submitted an application to the R.T.A. for the grant of a fresh permit on the route on September 27, 1974 which was published in the Rajasthan Gazette on December 19, 1974 under Sec. 57(3) of the Act, inviting objections in respect thereof within a period of 30 days from the date of the publication of the aforesaid application. Laxmichand, in the aforesaid circumstances, urged before the Tribunal that his application for the grant of a fresh permit should have been considered by the R.T.A. along with the application of the petitioner. This contention found favour with the Tribunal, who by its order dated January 20, 1975 accepted the revision petition filed by Laxmi Chand before it and set aside the resolution of the R.T.A. granting a permit to the petitioner on the route and remanded of the case back to the R.T.A. for a fresh consideration of the application of Laxmichand simultaneously along with that of the petitioner.
(3.) The aforesaid order passed by the Tribunal on January 20, 1975 is assailed before me on behalf of the petitioner and it has been urged by this learned counsel that the application of Laxmi Chand was not ripe for consideration either on the date when the agenda for the meeting of the R.T.A., which was to be held on October 21/22, 1974 was published in the Rajasthan Gazette dated September 19, 1974, or even on the date when the meeting of the R.T.A. actually took place on October 29, 1974 and considered the matter relating to the grant of a non -temporary stage carriage permit on the route. Mr. Maheshwari appearing for Laxmi Chand, respondent No. 3 supported the order passed by the Tribunal and urged in the first place that the respondent No. 3 could not submit an application for the grant of a fresh permit on the route until the matter relating to the renewal of his earlier permit was finally disposed of by the R.T.A. by its order dated August 28, 1974 and in the second place it was urged by him that as the application of the respondent No. 3 for grant of a fresh stage carriage permit on the route was not sent for publication in time by the R.T.A., the said application could not become ripe for hearing on account of inaction on the part of the office of the R.T.A. and as such the respondent No. 3 could not be made to suffer due to the aforesaid lapse on the part of the concerned officials and that the Tribunal was perfectly right in these circumstances in holding that the application of the respondent No. 3 should have been simultaneously considered along with the application of the petitioner, for grant of a fresh stage carriage permit on the route.;