PUNJAB SIKH REGULAR MOTOR SERVICE, MOUDHAPARA versus THE REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY, RAIPUR AND ANOTHER

PUNJAB SIKH REGULAR MOTOR SERVICE, MOUDHAPARA .

THE REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUTHORITY, RAIPUR AND ANOTHER

October 15, 1965

C.J., K. N. WANCHOO,

[P. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, C.J., K. N. M. HIDAYATULLAH AND V. RAMASWAMI, JJ.]

Motor Vehicles Act (4 of 1939), s. 63 and Central Provi11ces and Berar Motor Vehicles Rules, 1940, rr. 62 and 63-Scope of.

The Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur, granted the appellant renewal of the stage carriage permit for an inter-regional route. The appellant, thereafter, applied to the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur, for renewal of the grant of counter-signature on the renewed permit, and it was granted. In an application under Art. 226 by the 2nd respondent, the High Court quashed the order of the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur, on the ground that the appellant's application for renewel of the counter-signature was barred by time.

ln appeal to this Court,

HELD : On proper construction of the Central Provinces and Berar Motor Vehicles Rules made by the State Government in regard to the grant of permits and counter-signatures of inter-regional permits, the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur, was not competent to renew the counter-signature on the permit for the inter-regional route granted by the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur, and the permit was valid only so far as it related to the .route within the limits of Bilaspur region, [225 HJ

Even though by s. 63 of .the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, the power to •counter-sign the permit is entrusted to the Regional Transport Authority of the region in which the remaining part of the route is situate, th• effect of r. 63 is that the power to counter-sign the permit is vested in the Authority which grants the renewal of the permit. In the context and the language of the rule the word "may" in the rule, though permissive in form, is obligatory. If the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur, had power to renew the counter-signature on the permit under the rule, it must be held that the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur, had no such power under r. 62, because, the latter rule fs expressly made subject to the provisions of r. 63, and the power granted to the Regional Transport Authority under r. 62 is taken away by the provisions of r. 63. [227 C-G]

Ml s. Bundelkhand Motors Transport Company v. Beharilal, [1966] l S.C.R. 485, referred to.

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 152 of 1965.

Appeal from the judgment and order dated November 13, 1964 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Misc. Petition No. 373 of 1964.

M. S. Gupta, for the appellant.

B. R. L. Iyengar, for the respondents.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by

Ramaswami, J. On August 7, 1963 the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur granted to the Punjab Sikh Regular Motor Service, (hereinafter called the appellant), renewal of stage carriage permit for an inter-regional route-Saraipalli to Saran-garh-in the State of Madhya Pradesh. The permit was valid upto August 5, 1963 and by the order of renewal dated August 7, 1963 the permit was renewed for period of three years. On September 13, 1963 the appellant applied to the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur for renewal of the grant of counter-signature on the renewed pem1it. Respondent no. 2 objected to the renewal of the grant of counter-signature on the ground that the application of the appellant dated September 13, 1963 was barred by time. The Regional Transport Authority, Raipur held that the application for. renewal of the grant of counter-signature was not made within the time prescribed by rule 62 of the Central Provinces and Berar Motor Vehicles Rules but it took the view that the application for renewal had been filed within six weeks of the date of the passing of the order of renewal of the pennit by the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur and therefore the application for the renewal of the grant of counter-signature could not be rejected on the ground that it was time barred. The Regional Transport Authority, Raipur accordingly granted the renewal of the counter-signature on the permit by its order dated February 24, 1964. Respondent no. 2 thereafter applied to the High Court of Madhya Pradesh under Art. 226 of the Constitution of India for ·a writ quashing the order dated February 24, 1964 passed by the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur. The High Court took the view that an application for renewal of the grant of counter-signature must be made within the period prescribed by s. 58(2) of the Motor Vehicles Act and the appellant having failed to apply within that period, the application of the appellant for renewal of the counter-signature on the permit was barred and the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur had no jurisdiction to countersign the permit renewed by the Regional Transport Authority, Bi!aspur. The High Court accordingly quashed the order dated February 24, 1964 passed by the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur. This appeal is brought by the appellant with certificate granted by. the High Court nnder Art. 133(1) (c) of the Constitution.

It is advisable at this stage to refer to the material provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act (Act 4 of 1939) which have bearing

on the validity of the order of the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur dated February 24, 1964. Section 45 of the Motor Vehicles Act provides that every application for permit shall be made to the Regional Transport Authority of the region in which it is proposed to use the vehicle or vehicles. By the proviso to s. 45 it is enacted that where it is proposed to use the vehicle or vehicles in two or more regions lying within the same State, the application shall be made to the Regional Trans-port Authority of the region in which the major portion of the proposed route or area lies. Section 47 sets out the procedure of the Regional Transport Authority in considering applications for stage carriage permits and prescribes the matters which may be taken into account by that officer in granting or rejecting the applications for stage carriage permits. Section 48 provides that subject to the provision of s. 47, Regional Transport Authority may, on an application made to it, grant stage car-riage permit, in accordance with the application or with such modifications as it deems fit, valid for specified route or routes or specified area. Section 57 prescribes the procedure in "applying for and granting permits". It is provided by sub-s. (2) of s. 57 that an application for stage carriage permit or public carrier's permit shall be made not less than six weeks before the date on which it is desired that the pem1it shall take effect, or, if the Regional Transport Authority appoints date for the receipt of such applications, on such date. Section 58 (1) provides that stage carriage permit or contract carriage permit other than temporary permit shall be effective without renewal for such period not less than three years and more than five years, as the Regional Transport Authority may specify in the permit. Sub-section (2) enacts that permit may be rene-wed on an application made and disposed of as if it were an application for permit, provided that the application for the rene.wal of permit shall be made (a) in the case of stage carnage permit or public carrier's permit, not less than sixty days before the date of its expiry, and (b) in any other case, not less than thirty days before the date of its expiry. By sub-s. ( 3) the ;\uthority is, notwithstanding anything contained in the first proviso to sub-s. (2), authorised to entertain an application for the renewal of permit after the last date specified in the said proviso, if the application is made not more than fifteen days .after the said last date. Section 63 deals with inter-redonal and mter-state permits. The material parts of that section~ are:

"~ 1 ) Except as may be otherwise prescribed, permit granted by the Regional Transport Authority

of any one region, shall not be valid in any other region, unless the permit has been countersigned, by the Regional Transport Authority of that other region, and permit granted in any one State shall not be valid in any other State unless countersigned by the State Transport Authority of that other State or by the Regional Transport Authority concerned :

other

Provided ......................... .

(2) Regional Transport Authority when coun-tersigning the permit may attach to the permit any condition which it might have imposed if it had granted the permit and may likewise vary any condition attach-ed to the permit by the authority, by which the permit was granted.

(3) The provisions of this Chapter relating to the grant, revocation and suspension of permits shall apply to the grant, revocation and suspension of counter-signatures of permits :

Provided .......................... "

Section 68 ( 1) confers authority upon the State Government to make rules for the purpose of carying into effect the provisions of Ch. IV of the Act.

stage carriage permit granted by Regional Transport Authority therefore remains effective without renewal for period of not less than three years and not more than five years as the authority may specify in the permit. person desiring to obtain renewal of the permit must, in the case of stage carriage permit, make an application not Jess than sixty days -before the date of its expiry, and the Authority has to deal with the appli-cation for the renewal as if it were an application for permit. The procedure for obtaining renewal is assimilated to the pro-cedure prescribed for an application for first permit, but in order that there is no interruption in the transport service the Legislature has provided that the application for renewal shall be made not less than sixty days before the date of its expirv, it being assumed that the authority would be able, in the interval. to publish the application, and to hear objections to the grant of renewal. Except as may be otherwise prescribed, an inter-regional permit by Regional Transport Authority in any r,~gion. is not valid unless the permit is countersigned by the Regional Transport Authority of that other region. The provisions of Ch. TV relating to the grant, revocation and suspension of permits

\ \., .., I

apply to the grant, revocation and suspension of countersigna-tures of permits.

The High Court has held, in the present case, that an appli-cation for renewal of counter-signature has also to be made not less than sixty days before the date of its expiry and if no such application is made, the Regional Transport Authority has no power to countersign the permit, and upon that ground the High Court has quashed the order of the Regional Transport Autho-rity, Raipur dated February 24, 1964 granting countersignature of the permit. It was argued on behalf of the appellant that the period of limitation prescribed by s. 58 of the Motor Vehicles Act cannot be applied to an application for countersignature of renewed permit. It was submitted that the question of counter-signature cannot arise unless and until the pennit was first renewed and therefore it was erroneous to say that an application for countersignature should be made even before the permit was re-newed and within the time prescribed by s. 58. The contrary view was put forward on behalf of respondent no. 2. It was contended that in the case of an inter-regional route, the counter-signature of the Regional Transport Authority concerned was essential for the validity and confinnation of the grant made by the Regional Transport Authority having jurisdiction to grant permit for the inter-regional route. It was pointed out that under s. 63 (3) of the Motor Vehicles Act the provisions of Ch. IV relating to grant, revocation and suspension of pennits apply to the grant, revocation and suspension of countersignatures of per-mits and therefore the provisions of ss. 57 and 58 about the mak-ing of an application for the grant of permit, the time within which it must be made and the procedure that must be followed, apply equally in the matter of the grant of countersignatures and that as s. 58 laid down that an application for renewal of permit must be made, in the case of stage carriage pennit, not less than sixty days before the date of its expiry, it necessarily followed that an application for countersignature of the renewed permit for inter-regional route had to be made to the Regional Transport Authority concerned within sixty days before the date of the ex-piry of the permit.

We do not think it is necessary to express any opinion on the contentions advanced by the parties on this aspect of the case, for we are of the view that on proper construction of the rules made by the State Government in regard to the grant of permits and countersignatures of inter-regional permits the Re-gional Transport Authority, Raipur was not competent to renew

22G SUPREME COURT REPORTS

the countersignature on the pennit for the inter-regional route granted by the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur in the present case. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 the Central J;'rovinces and Berar Motor Vehicles Rules, 1940 were made by the appropriate authority and it is the admitted position that these rules were at the material time in operation in the two regions-Bilaspur and Raipur in the State of Madhya Pradesh with which we are concerned. By r. 61 it is provided :

"(a) Application for the renewal of permit shall be made, in writing to the Regional Transport Autho-rity by which the pem1it was issued not Jess than two months, in the case of stage carriage permit or pub-lic carrier's permit, and not Jess than one month in other cases, before the expiry of the permit, and shall be accompanied by Part of the permit. The appli-cation shall state the period for which the renewal is desired and shall be accompanied by the fee prescribed in rule 55.

(b) The Regional Transport Authority renewing pennit shall call upon the holder to produce part or Parts A, thereof, as the case may be, and shall en-dorse Parts and accordingly and shall return them to the holder."

By r. 62 cl. (a) it is provided :

"Subject to the provisions of r. 63, application for the renewal of countersignature on permit shall be made to the Regional Transport Authority concerned and within the appropriate periods prescribed by Rule 61 and shall, subject to the provisions of sub-rule (b), be accompanied by Part of the pennit. The appli-cation shall set forth the period for which the renewal of the counter-signature is required".

By r. 63 cl. (a) it is provided :

"The authority by which permit is renewed may, unless any authority by which the pennit has been cotm-tersigned (with effect not terminating before the date of expiry of the permit) has by general or special order otherwise directed, likewise renew any countersignature of the permit (by endorsement of the permit in the manner set forth in the appropriate fonn) and shall, in such case. intimate the renewal to such authority",

Ruic 61 substantially incorporates the provisions of sub-s. (2) of s. 58 of the Motor Vehicles Act and the proviso thereto, and makes certain incidental provisions. Clause (a) of r. 62 provides that the application for renewal of countersignature of permit shall be made to the Regional Transport Authority concerned and within the appropriate period prescribed by r. 61 but the provi-B sions of r. 62(a) are subject to the provisions of r. 63(a) which confers power upon the Authority which grants renewal of inter-regional permit under the first proviso to s. 45 to countersign the permit so as to make it valid for the other region covered by the route. Therefore, even though by s. 6:1 the power to countersign the permit is entrusted to the Regional Transport Authority of the region in which the remaining part of the route is situate, the effect of r. 63 is that the powc:r to counter.;ign the pennit is vested in the Authority which grants the renewal of the permit. The Legislature has by providing in the opening part of sub-s. ( l) of s. 63 "except as may be otherwise pres-cribed'' made the provision subject tu the rules framed by the State Government under s. 68 of the Motor Vehicles Act. The provisions of r. 63, therefore, must supersede the direction con-tained \n s. 63 ( l) of the statute and the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur was competent in the present case lo grant countersignature of the permit even in so far as it related to the Raipur region. On behalf of the appellant attention was drawn to the expression "may" in r. 63. But in the context and the language of the rule the word "may" though permissive in form, must be held to be obligatory. Under r. 63 the power to grant renewal of the countersignature on the permit in the present case is conferred on the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur. The exercise of such power of renewal depends not upon the discre-F tion of the authority but upon the proof of the particular case out of which such power arises. "Enabling words are construed as compulsory whenever the object of the power is to effectuate legal right" (See Julius v. Bishop of Oxford) ([1]). If the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur had power to renew the counter-G signature on the permit under r. 63, it must be held that the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur had no such power under r. 62 because the latter rule is expressly made subject to the provisions of rule 63, and the power granted to the Regional Transport Authority under s. 62 is taken away by the provisions of r. 63. It follows, therefore, that the Regional Transport Autho-H rity, Raipur was not competent to renew the countersignature on the permit in the present case and the Regional Transport Autho-

SUPREME COURT REPOtns

rity, Bilaspur was alone competent to renew the countersignature of the permit. We accordingly hold that the order of the Re-gional Transport Authority, Raipur dated February 24, 1964 granting countersignature of the pennit was illegal and ultra vires and was rightly quashed by the High Court by its order dated November 13, 1964.

We, therefore, confirm the order of the High Court, but for different reasons. We, however, desire to make it clear that our order does not affect the validity of the permit granted to the appellant by the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur in so far as it relates to the route within the limits of Bilaspur region. That is the ratio of the decision of this Court in M/s. Bundelkhand Motor Transport Company, Nowgaon v. Behari Lal Chaurasia and anr. ( [1]) in which it was pointed out that inter-regional permit when granted is valid for the region over which the authority granting the permit has jurisdiction even though it is not counter-signed by the proper Regional Transport Authority with regard to the portion of the route outside that region.

We accordingly dismiss this appeal. There will be nb order as to costs. We desire to express our thanks to Mr. Iyengar who acted as amicus curiae in this case.

Appeal dismissed.