The condition in the proviso to Sub-section (1-H) of Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act requires the State Transport Undertaking to satisfy the authority that it would be able to operate in the inter-State route without detriment to its responsibility for providing efficient and adequate road transport service in any notified area or notified route where it was already operating the service.

1. - This judgment shall dispose of the above mentioned 12 special appeals, which involve for decision a common question, which is the main controversy in these appeals.

2. These petitions relate to the routes Bhadra-Hissar via Adampur, Hanumangarh-Dabwalia via Sangaria, Bhadra-Hissar via Balsamand and Rajgarh-Hissar via Jhunpa. The contention of the petitioners in all the petitions, which have been dismissed giving rise to these appeals, was that the petitioners should be granted renewal of their permits since the State Transport Undertaking could not be granted any permit due to the prohibition contained in the proviso to Sub-section (1-H) of Section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act (here in after referred to as 'the Act'). All these routes are inter-State routes & Sub-section (1-H) of Section 47 provides that a State Transport Undertaking shall be given preference over all other applicants while granting stage carriage permit for operating in any inter-State route. The proviso there in then lays down that the State Transport Undertaking shall not be granted permit under this Sub-section unless the authority is satisfied about the fulfilment of the condition contained in the proviso It is really the meaning of the words laying down the condition on the fulfilment of which preferential grant in favour of the Transport Undertaking can be made for operating in any inter-State route which is in dispute. Thus, the meaning of the proviso to Sub-section (1-H) of Section 47 is the real question for decision in these appeals No other facts are material for deciding this question except that the authority has held that the State Transport Under taking fulfilled the condition laid down in the proviso it is entitled to be given preference over all these petitioners in grant of the stage carriage permit for operating in the aforesaid inter-State routes. The Regional Transport Authority as well as the State Transport Appellate Tribunal and thereafter the learned Single Judge while dismissing the writ petitions have all taken this view.

3. The only relevant provisions for our purpose are Section 47(1-H) and Section 58(2) as amended insertion of a new proviso there in Section 47(1-H) reads as under :

47. Procedure of Regional Transport Authority in considering application for stage carriage permit:

(1-H) Not with standing anything contained in this section, an application for stage carriage permit from a State Transport under taking for operating in and inter-State route shall be given preference over all other applications:

Provided that the authority shall not grant a permit under this subsection unless it is satisfied that the State Transport Undertaking would be able to operate in the inter-State route without detriment to its responsibility for providing efficient and adequate road transport service in any notified area or notified route as is referred to subsection (3) of Section 68D where the undertaking operates the service.

Explanation-For the purposes of this sub-section, 'inter-State route' means any route lying contiguously in two or more States.
The new proviso inserted in its application to the State of Rajasthan by Rajasthan Amendment in subsection (2) of Section 58 after the second proviso in as under:

'Provided further that other conditions being equal, an application for a stage carriage permit by a State Transport Undertaking, as defined in Section 58A, shall be given preference over applications from individual owners and co-operative societies.'

4. As earlier stated the real controversy is about the meaning of the proviso to Sub-section (1-H) of Section 47. The contention on behalf of the appellants is that this proviso requires satisfaction of the authority that the State Transport Undertaking is adequately and efficiently discharging its entire responsibility for providing road transport service in all the notified routes as contemplated under all the approved scheme published under Section 68-D(3) of the Act. In other wo