JUDGMENT

RANGANATHAN, J.:- These are two batches of 19 appeals each. One set of appeals has been filed by Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (A.P.S.R.T.C.) and the other set of appeals has been filed by the State of Andhra Pradesh. Both the sets of appeals are directed against the judgment of the Andhra Pradesh High Court dated 22-11-1985. All the appeals can be disposed of by a common judgment.

2. The respondents in both sets of appeals are transport operators, who were plying their stage carriages on various routes in Cuddapah district. on 17-5-77, the APSRTC gazetted about 70 draft schemes under which they proposed to ply their buses to the complete exclusion of other private operators plying their vehicles in the above district. Naturally the private operators raised objections to these schemes. It appears that till about 1981 the Government was also lukewarm about the process of nationalisation. However, a new Government was formed in 1983, which took up for hearing the objections to the draft scheme published in 1977. The Transport Minister passed an order approving the scheme. The private operators filed a batch of writ petitions and the High Court, vide its order