Judgment

VENKATARAMIAH, J.:- In the above cases the short question which arises for consideration is whether the appointment of the General Manager of Haryana Roadways as an officer who can exercise the powers exercisable by a Deputy Superintendent of Police under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) by the Government of Haryana under the Notification dated March 16, 1973 issued under Section 133-A of the Act is valid or not.

2. The appellant in the above appeal by special leave questioned the validity of the appointment of the General Manager of Haryana Roadways under the Notification, referred to above, as an officer entitled to exercise the powers of a Deputy Superintendent of Police under the Act in Writ Petition No. 1770 of 1978 on the file of the High Court of Punjab and Haryana. The Writ Petition was dismissed by the High Court in limine. Aggrieved by the decision of the High Court the appellant has preferred the above, appeal. The petitioners in the above mentioned Writ Petitions have questioned the validity of the above-said Notification under Article 32 of the Constitution. Since the point involved in the Civil Appeal and in the Writ Petitions is common, we propose to dispose of all these cases by this common judgment.

3. The appellant in the Civil Appeal is a company carrying on the business of motor transport. Its motor vehicles operate within the State of Haryana also. The petitioners in the Writ Petitions are also carrying on the same kind of business in the State of Haryana. All the motor vehicles operators are required to comply with the provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder. Non-compliance with many of those provisions would result in prosecution and those who are found guilty are liable to be punished. The Haryana Roadways is a department of the State of Haryana. It also carries on the business of providing passenger transport facilities in competition with the appellant and the petitioners herein. It owns a fleet of motor vehicles for the purpose of its business. The Haryana Roadways is also subject to, the various provisions of the Act and the rules made thereunder. The General Manager of Haryana Roadways is principally responsible for the proper administration of the. Haryana Roadways.

4. Under Section 133-A of the Act the State Government may for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the Act establish a motor vehicles department and appoint as officers thereof such persons as it thinks fit. Section 129 of the Act provides that any police officer authorised in this behalf or other person authorised in this behalf by the State Government may, if he has reason to believe that any identification mark carried on a motor vehicle or any licence, permit, certificate of registration, certificate of insurance of other document produced to him by the driver or person in charge of a motor vehicle is a false document within the meaning of Section 464 of the Indian Penal Code, seize the mark or document and call upon the driver or owner of the vehicle to account for his possession of or the presence in the vehicle of such mark or document. Under Section 129-A of the Act any police officer authorised in this behalf or other person authorised in this behalf by the State Government may, it he has reason to believe that a motor vehicle has been or is being used in contravention of the provisions of section 22 or without the permit required by sub-section (1) of Section 42 or in contravention of any condition of such permit relating to the route on which or the area in which or the purpose for which the vehicle may be used, seize and detain the vehicle, and for this purpose take or cause to be taken any steps he may consider proper for the temporary safe custody of the vehicle. On such seizure it is open to the officer concerned to lodge a prosecution before the magistrate competent to try it. There are several other powers which a police officer may exercise under the