Judgment

DESAI, J.:- Petitioners in this group of petitions under Art. 32 of the Constitution and petitions for special leave to appeal were at the relevant time holders of stage carriage permits granted to them under the M. V. Act, 1939 (Act for short), and were operating stage carriages on the routes for which permits were granted. Scheme No. 50-M was framed and publicised by the Madhya Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (Corporation for short), covering certain routes including (i) Rewa-Shahdol; and (ii) Satna-Ramnagar, which were to be reserved for exclusive operation by the Corporation. After objections were invited and heard, the scheme was finally approved and it came into force on January 20, 1979. On the approved scheme coming into force part of the routes on which petitioners were operating overlapped with the notified routes. Consequently their permits were curtailed prohibiting them from operating their stage carriages on a portion of their routes which were overlapping with the notified routes. This action was challenged by filing writ petitions under Art. 226 of the Constitution in the High Court of Madhya Pradesh at Jabalpur. A Division Bench of the High Court r