Modi, J. - (1.) These are two connected writ applications by the same petitioners under Article 226 of the Constitution and arise out of the same facts. We, therefore, propose to dispose of them by a single judgment.
(2.) The petitioners are the existing operators on what were formerly two separate routes namely Sawai Madhopur-Bonli via Jastana and Sawai Madhopur Lalsot via Jastana, each of these routes being 42 miles long having a common route of 30 miles between Sawai Madhopur and Jastana. The position in 1956 was that of these petitioners, nine held stage carriage permits for Sawai Madhopur Lalsot route and two held permits for the Sawai Madhopur Bonli route. By its resolution No. 202 dated 12-4-1956 (Ex. 1), the Regional Transport Authority at the request of all the petitioners amalgamated these two routes temporarily, to start with, and thereafter as a permanent measure by its resolution No. 434 dated 24-8-1957 (Ex. 5) and regular permits tor this amalgamated route were granted to all the eleven petitioners. It may be pointed out in this connection that the amalgamated routes were advertised and applications were invited and thereafter they were published on 13-9-1956, in the State Gazette. A few months earlier, respondent Kishore Sharan and two others applied to the Regional Transport Authority for grant of stage carriage permits on the Sawai Madhopur Bonli route via Khirni. It may be mentioned here that this route covered the pre-existing route of the petitioners for 18 miles from Sawai Madhopur to Bharoti and thence a diversion was to be made via Khirni to Bonli and this diversion runs over a distance of 16 miles. This route was also advertised and in due course applications of the respondents Kishore Sharan and two others were published on 25-10-1956. These came up for consideration before the Regional Transport Authority, Jaipur, in January, 1957. The petitioners raised an objection against the grant of any fresh permits on the route via Khirni by their application dated 19-111956, saying that they were already providing service on the Bonli Sawai Madhopur route and that there was neither scope nor necessity for creating this new route and mat the proposed service would over-lap a considerable part of their route and so this route need not be opened and, in any case, if it was thought fit to start it, then the same may be allowed to be operated by them. By their resolution No. 120/1957 dated the 21st/, 22-1-1957, the Regional Transport Authority decided that all the applications be rejected and that the operators of the Dausa-Bonli route and Sawai Madhopur-Bonli route be allowed to operate via Khirui. (Ex. 3). Ex. 4 is the time table which was provisionally chalked out by the Secretary of the Regional Transport Authority giving effect to this resolution.
(3.) The correct position, therefore, was that by the time resolution No. 434 dated 24-8-1957, came to be passed by the Regional Transport Authority amalgamating the two pre-existing routes, namely, Sawai Madhopur-Lalsot via Jastana and Sawai Madhopur-Bonli via Jastana, the Regional Transport Authority had in the meantime also decided by its resolution dated the 21st/22nd January, 1957 that the operators of Sawai Madhopur-Bonli route be allowed to operate via Khirni. The respondent Kishore Sharan meanwhile went in appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against the last-mentioned resolution of the Regional Transport Authority dated the 21st/22nd January, 1957, and the appeal was actually filed on the 22nd March, 1957. This appeal was decided by the Appellate Tribunal by its order dated the 30th October, 1957 (Ex. 5), and it is this order which has been challenged by the petitioners in writ application No. 200 of 1957. By this order, the Appellate Tribunal set aside the decision of the Regional Transport Authority contained in its resolution No. 120 dated the 21st/22nd January, 1957, and thereby the permission accorded to the petitioners to operate their pre-existing routes via Khirni was cancelled and the appellant was granted a permit on the Sawai Madhopur-Bonli route via Khirni. The ratio of the decision of the Appellate Tribunal was that the operators of the Sawai Madhopur-Bonli and Dausa-Bonli routes had never applied for the grant of any permits on the Sawai Madhopur-Bonli via Khirni route, and that the last- men- tioned route was not a mere variation of the preexisting route. The Tribunal placed its reliance on a decision of the Calcutta High Court in Barrackpore Bus Syndicate v. Serajuddin, AIR 1957 Cal 444 and further held that even if what was done by the Regional Transport Authority was a variation in the conditions attached to the permits of the petitioners, it virtually amounted to the grant of a permit on a fresh route, and, therefore, it was incumbent upon the authorities to follow the procedure laid down in Section 57 of the Act and the relative rules, and as that had not been done by the Regional Transport Authority, the variation sanctioned in favour of the petitioners was unlawful.;