SAROJ KANTI BASU Vs. S.C. SINGHA ROY AND ORS.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner is a refugee from Eastern Pakistan. After the partition, he came to West Bengal and it appears that, as a measure of rehabilitation, the R.T.A., Calcutta Region, in May, 1949, granted a permit to the petitioner to run a bus in route No. 54 being a route between Howrah and Bally Khal. In the application for such a permit, the petitioner had to answer a question as to whether he owned any bus in Pakistan or had any transport business and he gave the following answer:-

(2.) Upon remand, the matter was reheard by the State Transport Authority, West Bengal, who again rejected the appeal. On or about the 19th Sept., 1952, the petitioner preferred an appeal against this order to the Board of Revenue. On or about the 23rd of Oct., 1952, there was published an amendment of the Bengal Motor Vehicles Rules whereby it was provided as follows:-

(3.) Pursuant to this rule, by a notification published in the Calcutta Gazette on the 6th of Aug., 1953, the State Government appointed a committee consisting of the respondents S.C. Singha Roy. Dr. Amulya Dhan Mukherjee and Dr. Jiban Ratan Dhar as authority to decide appeals under rule 83 of the said Rules. It is this committee which dealt with the appeal of the petitioner which was then pending before the Board of Revenue, and, on the 23rd of Sept., 1953, rejected the appeal. The petitioner makes a grievance that he was not heard But this aspect of the matter is unnecessary to be considered in view of the decision to which I have arrived on the real point, namely, as to whether the Committee was competent to hear an appeal which was then pending before the Board of Revenue. In this rule the petitioner challenges the jurisdiction of the Committee to consider the appeal and the decision arrived at by the Committee dated 23rd of Sept., 1953.