Judgment

G.P. Mathur, J.—

Civil Appeal No. 6341/2002

1. This appeal, by special leave, has been preferred against the judgment dated 23.7.2002 of Allahabad High Court by which the scheme dated 13.2.1986 published under Section 68-C of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 and the approved scheme published on 29.5.1993 was quashed.

2. In order to appreciate the contentions raised by learned counsel for the parties, it is necessary to mention the essential facts, as the case has a long history. The Uttar Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (for short ‘UPSRTC’) prepared a draft scheme to nationalize Saharanpur-Shahdara-Delhi route and the same was published on 29.9.1959 in accordance with Section 68-C of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘old Act’). The scheme was challenged by a number of operators and the High Court by its judgments dated 31.10.1961 and 7.2.1962 upheld the scheme as against 50 operators, but quashed the same as against 32 and 18 operators who had filed two groups of writ petitions on the ground that they should be afforded an opportunity of hearing. In appeal, the judgment of the High Court was upheld by this Court in Civil Appeal No. 1616 of 1968