SUKUMAR PAUL Vs. THE STATE TRANSPORT AUTHORITY, ASSAM AND OTHERS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THIS application under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India is directed against an order of the State Transport Appellate Authority setting aside the earlier order of the Regional Transport Authority, Nowgong refusing to grant a contract carriage permit to the 4th Respondent.

(2.) THE 4th Respondent made an application for grant of a contract carriage permit under Section 50 of the Motor Vehicles Act to the Regional Transport Authority. That authority refused to grant the permit holding that it was not good as a matter of policy to grant temporary permit from time to time on an ad hoc basis. Earlier, however, for the same route along with other routes, the question of increasing contract carriage permits was considered and the Regional Transport Authority had decided to increase the permits. Representation was submitted before the Regional Transport Authority by the existing contract carriage permit holders against the increase of permits in the Lanka route with which we are concerned in the present case. The petitioner was one of the existing permit holders and was dissatisfied with the order of the Regional Transport Authority and went in revision under Section 64 -A of the Act to the State Transport Authority, That authority allowed the revision petition of the petitioner on 30/31 -5 -1969. The 4th Respondent had preferred an appeal against rejection of his application for contract carriage permit to the State Transport Appellate Authority, which came up for disposal on 6/7 -6 -1969. The appellate authority allowed his appeal having taken into consideration the needs of the locality. There was an additional ground given by the appellate authority to which serious objection is taken by Mr. Goswami that it had referred to the fact of there being existing vacancies on the route. Mr. Goswami strenuously contends that this would go to show that the appellate body took no note of the order of the State Transport Authority which had set aside the order of the Regional Transport Authority to increase the permits, only about a week back, namely on 30/31 -5 -1969. The only section to which our attention has been drawn, relevant for considering an application for particular contract carriage permit is Section 50 read with Section 57(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act. Under Section 57(1). application for this type of permit can be made at any stage. Under Section 50 a procedure is provided for hearing such an application. That section is worth quoting:

(3.) I agree.