A.K. SARKAR, J.

(1) THE petitioner is a co-operative society duly registered and it carries on the business of plying motor buses as stage carriages on the public highways in the State of Bombay. Its case in this petition is that it has been deprived of its right to carry on this business and has also been subjected to discriminatory treatment in the matter of the grant of permits to run its buses. It complains of the infringement of its fundamental rights under arts. 19(1)(g) and 14 of the Constitution.

(2) THE questions raised in this matter turn on some of the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, as amended by Act 100 of 1956. These provisions have to be examined before proceeding to discuss the questions that arise. We are concerned only with Ch. IV and IVA of the Act. Ch. IV comprises ss. 42 to 68 and Ch. IVA, which was in its entirety introduced by the amending Act, consists of ss. 68A to 68-I.

(3) TAKING Ch. IV first, we find that s. 42(1) provides that no owner of a transport vehicle shall use or permit the use of the vehicle in any public place save in accordance with the conditions of a permit granted under the Act. A ` transport vehicle ` is defined in s. 2(33) as a public service vehicle or a goods vehicle. Clause (a) of sub-sec. (3) of s. 42 as it originallystood provided that sub-sec. (1) of that section would not apply to any transport vehicle owned by or on behalf of the central government or a State government other than a vehicle used in connection with the business of a railway. So under it the government could ply stage carriages on. the public highways without having to obtain permits in respect of them. The amending Act of 1956 substituted a, new clause (a) in s. 42(3) for the old clause. The new cl. (a) provides that sub-sec. (1) shall not apply to any transport vehicle owned by the central government or a State government and used for government purposes unconnected with any commercial enterprise. Since the amendment, therefore, the government cannot run stage carriages on the public highways without a permit, just as a private owner of stage carriages cannot do, because such use of the vehicles will not be for a purpose unconnected with a commercial enterprise. Section 44 authorises a State government to constitute a State Transport Authority and Regional Transport Authorities for different areas in that State to carry out the duties specified. Section 45 provides that every application for a permit shall be made to the Regional Transport Authority of the region in which it is proposed to use the vehicle. Section 47 specifies the matters to which a Regional Transport Authority shall have regard in considering an application for the grant of a permit.

(4) WE now come to Ch. IVA. Section 68A(b) defines a ` State transport undertaking ` for the purpose of the Ch. to mean an undertaking providing road transport service, carried on, among others, by a State government. Section 68B provides that the provisions of Ch. IVA shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in Ch. IV. Section 68C is in these terms: 68C. Where any State transport undertaking is of opinion that for the purpose of providing an efficient, adequate, economical and properly coordinated road transport service, it is necessary in the public interest that road transport services in general or any particular class of such service, in relation to any area or route or portion thereof should be run and operated by the State transport undertaking, whether to the exclusion, complete or partial, of other persons or otherwise, the State transport undertaking may prepare a scheme giving particulars of the nature of the services proposed to be rendered, the area or route proposed to be covered and such other particulars respecting thereto as may be prescribed, and shall cause every such scheme to be published in the Official Gazette and also in such other manner as the State government May d