- (1.) HEARD learned Counsel for the appellant.
(2.) THE Regional Transport Authority, Bikaner, issued a notification inviting applications for one vacancy from the stage carriage operators within 30 days from the date of the notification. The notification was published in the government Gazette dated 9th Dec. 1976. It is not disputed that the application of the appellant was not within the time prescribed i. e. , within 30 days, as mentioned in the said notification. In the said notification it was specifically stated that applications received beyond the appointed day, shall not be considered at all.
(3.) IN response to the said notification three applications were received by the R. T. A. within the prescribed time, whereas two applications, including that of the appellant, were received beyond the appointed day. When these applications came before the R. T. A. on 14th April, 1977, the R. T. A. dealt with the cases of the three applicants whose applications were within time, but the remaining two applications, including that of the appellant, were held to be barred by time and there is no mention of the merits of those applications in the said resolution of the R. T. A. dated 14th April, 1977. The order on the three applications was, however, reserved. The R. T. A. however passed an order on 11th May, 1977, granting permit to the appellant on the ground that the appellant has got ready stage carriage of 1974 model. The R. T. A. however, did not consider the cases of the remaining three applicants, whose applications were within time The matter was taken up by way of appeal before the S. T. A. T. by the aggrieved operators and the S. T. A. T. accepted the appeal of the respondent No. 3 M/s. Matoria Bus Service and granted permit to it. The appellant being aggrieved, moved the High Court by 4 writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of india. The matter came up before Hon'ble the Chief Justice Shri Tyagi, who rejected the petition inter alia holding that the application of the appellant was barred by time and, therefore, no permit could be granted on such time-barred application. Being aggrieved against that order, the appellant has come up before us by way of special appeal,;