Bapna, J.—These three references arise out of three writ petitions, No. 144 of 1958 by Ashoka Bus Transport Corporation, Bhilwara, No. 145 of 1958 by Motor Workers Co-operative Society Ltd., Bundi, and No. 158 of 1958 by Kotah Transport Ltd., Kotah, in which similar questions of law have arisen, and have been referred to this Full Bench.

2. The facts, which have led to these writ petitions; are common to all of them. By a Notification of 21st March, 1957, published in the Rajpatra of 4th April, 1957, the Regional Transport Authority, Udaipur, invited applications for various routes including the Kotah Bundi Chittorgarh route, mentioning the number of permits to be granted on this route to be 2, It was, however, mentioned in the Notification "that Regional Transport Authority reserves the right to amend or cancel the route or change the number of permits or vary the condition thereof on any route." Various persons applied for permits on this route, and their applications were published in the Rajasthan Rajpatra of 6th June, 1957, under Notification of 24th May, 1957. The date when the applications were to be taken into consideration was mentioned to be notified later on. It so happened that the application of one Framji Motor Transport Company, Nasirabad, was left out of publication by some inadvertance, and a fresh Notification dated 25th June, 1957, was issued in the Rajpatra of 11th July, 1957, publishing the said application in continuation of the previous Notification.

3. The Regional Transport Authority (R.T.A.) held its meetings on 29/30th July, 1957. At the outset the R. T. A. decided that four permits should be granted in place of two advertised on the Kotah Chittorgarh route, and then proceeded to consider all the applications and decided to grant one permit each to Kotah Transport Ltd., Kotah, Bundi Electric Supply Co. Ltd., Bundi, Motor Workers Cooperative Society Ltd., Bundi and Ashoka Bus Transport Corporation, Bhilwara. The rest of the applications, including Framjis application, were rejected.

4. Messrs, Electric Supply Co. Ltd. Bundi, filed an appeal before the Appellate Tribunal of the State Transport Authority on the grounds which may be summarised as under:—

(1) That the Bundi Electric Supply Co. Ltd. was better qualified far various reasons mentioned in the application for grant of permits ;

(2) That it applied for two permits, but would have applied for four if it would have been known from before that the R. T. A. was going to grant four permits on the route;

(3) That it had applied for two permits, and although one had been granted, one more should be granted to it;

(4) That the other three persons, to whom permits were granted, were not as-qualified as the appellant ;

(5) That the R. T. A. had committed an error in considering all the applications on 29th July, 1957, when the period of 30 days prescribed by sec. 57(3) of the Motor Vehicles Act had not expired between the date of publication of the application and its consideration by the R. T. A.

Certain other objections were also taken, but they are not relevant for the purposes of these references. Shri Kishan Chand, Shri Syed Mumtaz Ali, Rajasthan Transport Corporation, Mohammad Bux and Sons, and Shokat Ali and Brothers also filed appeals against the refusal to grant permits to them.

5. Kishan Chand and Rajasthan Transport Corporation did not enter appearance, and their appeals were dismissed for default. The other four appeals were allowed, the order of the grant of permits on this route by Resolution of the R. T. A., Udaipur, dated 29/30th July, 1957, was set aside, and a direction was given for reconsideration of the whole question of grant of permits on this route. The relevant portion of the judgment is as under:—

"We have heard at length the arguments of all the parties and examined the record of the Regional Transport Authority. Point at issue before us is whether Regional Transport Authority can ignore the provisions of sec. 57(3) of the Motor Vehicles

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