The grant of temporary permit under Section 87(1)(c) of the Motor Vehicles Act requires the authority to assess the actual temporary need and the period for which the additional buses are required on the route.

ORDER :

GURPAL SINGH AHLUWALIA, J.

This petition under Article 226 of Constitution of India has been filed seeking following reliefs:

“7.1 Allow the petition and issue a writ of certiorari quashing the impugned order dated 03.04.2024 passed by the respondent no.3 (Annexure P/6) and impugned temporary permit dated 04.04.2024 issued by the respondent no.3 (Annexure P/7).

7.2 All the petition and issue a writ of mandamus restraining the respondent no.3 to grant further temporary permit to the respondent no.4 on the route Pipariya to Hoshangabad on his vehicle no. MP04 PA-1411.

7.3 Any other appropriate orders against respondents be issue in favour of the petitioner with cost of the petition.”

2. It is submitted by counsel for petitioner that respondent No.4 had not disclosed any temporary need except by mentioning that on account of festivals there would be a pressure on traffic requiring issuance of temporary permit. The Secretary, RTA Narmadapuram Division Hoshangabad by order dated 03.04.2024 held that in the light of temporary needs mentioned in the application, it is conducive to issue a temporary permit up to 31.05.2024. It is submitted by counsel for petitioner that merely mentioning that on account of festivals there would be a lot of pressure on traffic is not sufficient to fulfill the requirement of temporary need and the Secretary, RTA must consider the said aspect in detail pointing out the requirement of temporary permit to ply bus on a particular route.

3. Per contra, petition is vehemently opposed by counsel for respondent No.4. However, it is fairly conceded that except by mentioning that on account of festivals no other reasons have been disclosed for grant of temporary permit.

4. Heard the learned counsel for the parties.

5. Section 87 of Motor Vehicles Act reads as under:

“87. Temporary permits- (1) A Regional Transport Authority and the State Transport Authority may without following the procedure laid down in section 80, grant permits, to be effective for a limited period which shall, not in any case exceed four months, to authorise the use of a transport vehicle temporarily-

(a) for the conveyance of passengers on special occasions such as to and from fairs and religious gatherings, or

(b) for the purposes of a seasonal business, or

(c) to meet a particular temporary need, or

(d) pending decision on an application for the renewal of a permit,

and may attach to any such permit such condition as it may think fit:

Provided that a Regional Transport Authority or, as the case may be, State Transport Authority may, in the case of goods carriages, under the circumstances of an exceptional nature, and for reasons to be recorded in writing, grant a permit for a period exceeding four months, but not exceeding one year.

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub- section (1), a temporary permit may be granted thereunder in respect of any route or area where-

(i) no permit could be issued under section 72 or section 74 or section 76 or section 79 in respect of that route or area by reason of an order of a Court or other competent authority restraining the issue of the same, for a period not exceeding the period for which the issue of the permit has been so restrained;

(ii) as a result of the suspension by a Court or other competent authority of the permit of any vehicle in respect of that route or area, there is no transport vehicle of the same class with a valid permit in respect of that route or area, or there is no adequate number of such vehicles in respect of that route or area, for a period not exceeding the period of such suspension:

Provided that the number of transport vehicles in respect of which temporary permits are so granted shall not exceed the number of vehicles in respect of which the issue of the permits have been restrained or, as the case may be, the permit has been suspended.”

6. The Authorities have been given a jurisdiction to issue a temporary permit to cater the temporary need of buses on particular route. Tempor