( 1 ) THESE are two connected petitions raising the same questions for decision and may conveniently be disposed of together.

( 2 ) THE petitioners in the two petitions are permit holders for stage carriages which run on the route Agra to Tantpur. On this route, two rivers intercept the highway. Khari river does it at mile 13 and Uttangan river at mile 23. There are permanent masonry bridges over these two rivers, but the bridges are somewhat low. There is no difficulty in the seasons other than rainy season and all the stage carriages and buses run over the pucca bridges while travelling on this route. The difficulty only arises sometime during the rainy season, because on some days the water flows over the bridges and if the water is sufficiently deep over them, it is not possible to cross the bridges by motor transports. On those days the passengers get down from the buses and walk down to the neigh- bouring ferries where arrangements are made to carry passengers across the river but not the buses. Previously there used to be no levy of toll tax on vehicles crossing the bridges over the rivers Khari and Uttangon. But subsequently (the exact time does not appear from the affidavi

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