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High Court Of Calcutta
GITESH RANJAN BHATTACHARJEE
MIRA SUR - Appellant
Versus
STATE OF WEST BENGAL - Respondent
. 92 Of .
Decided On : 05/19/1994
MOTOR VEHICLES ACT - STAGE CARRIAGE PERMIT - REFUSAL - GROUNDS - CONGESTION ON ROUTE - REJECTION OF APPLICATION ON GROUND OF CONGESTION - NOT PERMISSIBLE - LIBERALIZED POLICY INTRODUCED IN THE MOTOR VEHICLES ACT, 1988.
Fact of the Case:
Petitioner applied for a permanent stage carriage permit on the Calcutta-Siliguri route. The State Transport Authority (STA) rejected the application, stating that the route was nationalized and adequately served by existing operators, and further grant of permit would cause unhealthy congestion.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the route was not nationalized and that the STA's decision was based on an erroneous interpretation of the law. The court also held that the STA's decision was arbitrary and not based on any facts or figures.
Issues: 1. Whether the STA could reject the petitioner's application for a stage carriage permit on the ground of congestion on the route. 2. Whether the STA's decision was based on an erroneous interpretation of the law.
Ratio Decidendi: 1. The court held that the STA could not reject the petitioner's application for a stage carriage permit on the ground of congestion on the route. The court relied on the Supreme Court's decision in Mithilesh Garg v. Union of India, which held that the new Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, introduced a liberalized policy in the grant of stage carriage permits and that the STA could not refuse a permit on the ground of congestion. 2. The court also held that the STA's decision was based on an erroneous interpretation of the law. The court found that the STA had misinterpreted the provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, and had failed to take into account the Supreme Court's decision in Mithilesh Garg.
Final Decision: The court quashed the STA's decision and directed the STA to grant a permanent permit to the petitioner within three weeks.
( 1 ) IN this writ petition the petitioner has challenged the decision of the State Transport Authority (S. T. A.), West Bengal dated the 30/12/1992 Annexure-P to the writ petition rejecting the prayer of the petitioner for stage carriage permit. The petitioner on 5/08/1989 made an application before the S. T. A. , West Bengal for a permanent stage carriage permit in respect of the route Calcutta to Siliguri. Subsequently the petitioner moved this court by a writ petition which was disposed of by a learned single Judge of this Court by passing the order dated the 2/05/1991 requiring the S. T. A. to consider and dispose of the petitioner's application for stage carriage permit on the said route within a specified time. Thereafter the S. T. A. disposed of the application by a resolution dated the 6/06/1991 by which the petitioner's application was rejected on the ground that the concerned route was a nationalised one and the State Transport Corporations were operating on the said route and it was felt that adequate services had been maintained on the route and no permit had been issued to private operators on the said route after notification. The said decision of the S. T. A. dated the 6/06/1991 was challenged by the petitioner by a writ petition before this court. The said writ petition was finally heard and disposed of by Handas Das, J. on 8th Sept. 1992 requiring the S. T. A. to consider the application of the petitioner for stage carriage permit within a specified time. The petitioner then preferred an appeal against the said order of Handas Das, J. dated the 8th Sept. 1992 and the said appeal was disposed of by a Division Bench by order dated the 24th Nov. 1992. The Division Bench in disposing of that appeal inter alia directed the S. T. A. to consider the petitioner's application for stage carriage permit within a specified time in terms of the order of the learned trial Judge and by following the principle laid down by the Supreme Court in the case of Mithilesh Garg and also follow the scheme laid down under the new Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 under which there was no maximum number of stage carriage fixed for any particular route. Be it noted that the order passed by the learned trial Judge stood modified by the order passed by the Division Bench in appeal. Pursuant to the direction of the Division Bench the petitioner was given a hearing by the S. T. A. on 30/12/1992 but thereafter nothing was communicated to the petitioner about the fate of his application for the stage carriage permit. Consequently the petitioner moved this Court again by another writ petition. In that writ proceeding Kalyanmoy Ganguly, J. passed an order on 23/04/1993 adjourning the case for a fortnight for giving further opportunity to the State Transport Authority to produce the records and also directed that if in the meantime the petitioner applied for a temporary permit the S. T. A. would forthwith issue the same. On 13/05/1993 the S. T. A. however preferred an appeal against the said order of Kalyanmoy Ganguly, J. dated the 23/04/1993. The S. T. A. also moved an application for stay of the impugned order and the stay application was disposed of on 13/05/1993 by the Division Bench by directing the S. T. A. to grant temporary permit for a period of 4 months subject to the decision taken by the learned trial Judge on merits of the writ application. The appeal was also disposed of. Then on 14/05/1993 the existing operators being Shri Pravash Chandra Sinha and others moved an application before the Division Bench inter alia for modification/clarification of the order passed on 13/05/1993 and the Division Bench passed certain interim order on that application. Thereafter the S. T. A. moved an application before the Division Bench for recalling the order dated the 13/05/1993 and the Division Bench disposed of the said application by recalling the order dated the 13/05/1993 and also directed the S. T. A. to take steps on t
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