Judgment

DESAI, J. :- These three appeals are directed against the common judgment rendered by the High Court of Orissa at Cuttack in three writ petitions styled as C.J.C. No. 381, 182 and 881, all of 1976 (Reported in AIR 1979 Orissa 133) moved by the appellants in these appeals. A common question of law permeates these three appeals, and therefore, factual matrix will be extracted from C.A. No. 2499/78 filed by one Mr. Ashutosh Swain as representative of the facts necessary for disposal of these appeals.

2. State Transport Authority, Orissa issued an advertisement dated June 24, 1974 inviting applications in the prescribed form for endorsement in the permit of the motor cabs or omnibuses enabling the holders of the permit to ply the vehicle as a tourist vehicle with all India operation, In other words, applications were invited from the operators for all-India tourist permit. The last date for receiving the applications was July 13, 1974. In response to the advertisement number of intending operators including the appellants in these appeals submitted their applications for grant of all-India tourist permit to the concerned authority within time. The State Transport Authority proce