Judgment

DESAI, J. :- Appellants and petitioners in this group of appeals and special leave petition and writ petitions are persons who have obtained or were desirous of obtaining temporary tourist permits valid for the whole of India styled as All India Tourist Permit.

2. The chronology of events leading to the appeals and writ petitions may be briefly stated. Sub-section (7) Was inserted in Section 63 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (Act for short) with effect from October 1, 1970 empowering State Transport Authority in each State, for the purpose of promoting tourism, to grant permits valid for the whole or any part of India, in respect of such number of tourist vehicles as the Central Government may, in respect of that State, specify in this behalf. The Central Government specified that the State Transport Authority in each State may grant permit as contemplated by Section 63 (7) not exceeding 50 in number. Armed with this power, the State Transport Authority of Karnataka State in all granted 36 such permits. There were thus 14 vacancies. It appears that several persons applied for temporary all India tourist permits to the State Transport Authority of Karnataka State. These appl