The requirement of pre-publication of the Rules, according to the combined effect of Section 133 of the Act of 1939 and Section 23 of the General Clauses Act of 1897 has been substantially disregarded in the making of the impugned Rules, and, therefore, they cannot be held to have been validly enacted.

MODI, J.

( 1 ) THESE are five writ applications under Art. 226 of the Constitution by which the validity of the Rules called the Rajasthan State Road Transport Services (Development) Rules, 1959 (hereinafter referred to as the Rules of 1959) has been challenged. As the questions of law raised by these petitions are common, we propose to dispose of them by a single judgment.

( 2 ) IT is necessary to state a few salient facts in order to understand the contentions raised in these writ petitions. The petitioners are the several holders of certain stage carriage permits on certain routes, and it is sufficient to state for our present purposes that these permits have not yet expired and would be current for some time to come. In exercise of the powers conferred on it by Section 68-I of the Motor Vehicles Act (No. IV) of 1939 (hereinafter called the Act) under Chapter iva thereof, which was introduced into the Act for the first time by Act No. 100 of 1956, the State Government published a draft of the impugned Rules by a notification in the State Gazette dated the 9th December, 1959, in compliance with Sub-section (1) of Section 133 of the Act. This notification was issued, to use its own language, "for the information of all persons likely to be affected thereby", and notice was thereby given that the said draft would be taken into consideration on or after the expiry of seven days from the date of publication of that notice in the Official Gazette. It was further notified that

"any objection or suggestion which may be received from any person in respect of the said draft before the specified period will be considered fey the State Government".

(See Appendix II ). It is not disputed that in accordance with this notification, these draft rules were finalised on the 17th December, 1959, and published in the State gazette of the same date, and this is how these rules came into force at once. By these Rules, a State Transport Undertaking in the name of "the Rajasthan State roadways" has been created and powers have been given to the General Manager thereof who is to be appointed by the State to the State Transport Undertaking to prepare a scheme in relation to such areas or routes as in its opinion should be run and operated by the State Transport Undertaking whether to the exclusion, complete or partial of other persons or otherwise, where the said Undertaking is of opinion that for the purpose of providing efficient, adequate, economical and properly co-ordinated road service, it is necessary in the public interest to do so. Immediately thereafter, the State Transport Undertaking framed schemes for the various areas or routes in question which were sought to be operated hereafter by it or the Rajasthan State Roadways. These schemes were published in the State gazette on various dates in the mouth of December, 1959. Consequently, the petitioners who are the existing bus-operators on these routes instituted the present writ applications challenging the validity of the Rules of 1959 and praying that the said Rules be declared to be ultra vires and inoperative. It was also prayed that a writ of prohibition be issued against the Government of Rajasthan and the Secretary to the Government, Law and Judicial Department (the latter being the authority appointed under the Rules to hear the objections against the various schemes) not to consider the various schemes or to give effect to them. By an interim order of this Court, the Secretary to the Government of Rajasthan, law and Judicial Department, was restrained from deciding the objections raised by the petitioners with the result that the schemes have yet to be considered and finalised. The principal grievances of the petitioners is that the Rules of 1959 under which the various schemes for the nationalisation of road transport service on the routes or areas in question have been prepared are illegal inasmuch as according to this petitioners although a pretence of giving some time