Judgement

DAS, J. : This judgment will dispose of all the five petitions (Nos. 189 to 193 of 1955) which have been heard together and which raise the same question as to the constitutional validity of the C. P. & Berar Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 1947 (Act III of 1948).

2. The facts are short and simple. Each of the petitioners has been carrying on business as stage carriage operator for a considerab1e number of years under permits granted under S. 58, Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (Central Act IV of 1939) as amended by the C. P.& Berar Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 1947 (Act III of 1948).

3. Prior to the amendment S. 58, Motor Vehicles Act 1939 was in the following terms :

"58(1). A permit other than a temporary permit issued under section 62 shall be effective without renewal for such period, not less than three years and not more than five years as the Regional Transport Authority may in its discretion specify in the permit.

Provided that in the case of a permit issued or renewed within two years of the commencement of this Act, the permit shall be effective without ranewal for such period of less than three years as the Provincial Government may rescribe.

(2) A permit may be renewed on an application made and disposed of as if it were an application for a permit:

Provided that, other conditions being equal, an application for renewal shall be given preference over new applications for permits". It will be noticed that under the section as it originally stood the permit granted thereunder was for a period of not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years and a permitholder applying for renewal of the permit had, other things being equal, preference over new app1icants for permit over the same route and would ordinarily get such renewal.

4. Very far-reaching amendments were introduced by the C. P. Berar Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 1947 into the Motor Vehicles Act 1939 in its application to Central provinces and Berar By S. 3 of the amending Act, item (ii) of sub-section ( i) of S. 43 of the Central Act was replaced by the following items:

"(ii) fix maximum, minimum or specified fares or freights for stage carriages and public carriers to be applicable throughout the province or within any area or on any route within the province, or

(iii) notwithstanding anything contained in section 58 or section 60 cancel any permit granted under the Act in respect of a transport vehicle or class of such permits either generally or in any area specified in the notification:

Provided that no such notification shall be issued before the expiry of a period of three months from the date of a notification declaring its intention to do so :

Provided further that when any such permit has been cancelled, the permit-holder shall be entitled to such compensation as may be provided in the rules; or

(iv) declare that it will engage in the business of road transport service either generally or in any area specified in the notification" . The following sub-section (3) was added after sub-section (2) of S. 58 of the Central Act by S. 8 of the amending Act, namely:

"(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), the Provincial Government may order a Regional Transport Authority or the Provincial Transport Authority to limit the period for which any permit or class of permits is issued to any period less than the minimum specified in the Act". Section 9 of the amending Act added after S. 58 a new section reading as follows :

"58-A. Notwithstanding anything hereinbefore contained the Provincial Government may by order direct any Regional Transport Authority or the Provincial Transport Authority to grant a stage carriage permit to the Provincial Government or any undertaking in which the Provincial Government is financially interested or a permit-holder whose permit has been cancelled under section 43 or any local authority specified in the order".

The result of these amendments was that power was given to the Government (i) to fix fares or freights th