Punjab Sikh Regular Motor Service, Moudhapara, Raipur v. Regional Transport Authority, Raipur, (SC) BS110275
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

(Large Bench)

Before:- P.B. Gajendragadkar, C.J.I., K.N. Wanchoo, M. Hidayatullah and V. Ramaswami, JJ.

Civil Appeal No. 152 of 1965. D/d. 15.10.1965.

Punjab Sikh Regular Motor Service, Moudhapara, Raipur - Appellant

Versus

Regional Transport Authority, Raipur and another - Respondent

For the Appellant :- Mr. M. S. Gupta, Advocate.

For the Respondent :- Mr. B. R. L. Iyengar, Advocate (amicus curiae).

Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, Sections 45, 58, 63 and 68 C.P. and Berar Motor Vehicles Rules, 1940, Rules 61, 62 and 63 - Motor Vehicles - Stage carriage permit for inter regional route - Renewal thereof - Power of Regional Transport Authority which grants renewal of permit to countersign the permit under Rule 63 - Exercise of power of renewal depending upon proof of particular case from where power arising - Enabling words are constituted as compulsory whenever the object of power is to effectuate a legal right.

[Para 5]

Cases Referred :-

Julius v. Bishop of Oxford, (1880) 5 AC 214 at p. 244.

Bundelkhand Motor Transport Co., Nowgaon v. Behari Lal Chaurasia, C. A. No. 51 of 1965, dated 17-8-1965.

JUDGMENT

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 a stage carriage permit for an inter-regional route-Saraipalli to Sarangarh - 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 a 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 permit. 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 R. 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 permit by the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur and, therefor, the application for the renewal of the grant of counter-signature could not be rejected on the ground that it was time barred. 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 Article 226 of the Constitution of India for a writ quashing the order, dated February 24, 1864 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 Section 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, Bilaspur. 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 a certificate granted by the High Court under Article 133(1) (c) of the Constitution.

2. It is advisable at the stage to refer to the material provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act (Act 4 of 1939) which have a 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 a 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 Section 45 it is enacted that where it is proposed to use the vehicle or vehicles in two or more regions laying within the same State, the application shall be made to the Regional Transport 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 prescribeds 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 provisions of Section 47, a Regional Transport Authority may, on an application made to it, grant a stage carriage permit, in accordance with the application or with such modifications as it deems fit; valid for a specified route or routes or a specified area. Section 57 prescribes the procedure in "applying for and granting permits". It is provided by sub-section (2) of Section 57 that an application for a stage carriage permit or a public carrier's permit shall be made not less than six weeks before the date on which it is desired that the permit shall take effect, or if the Regional Transport Authority appoints a date for the receipt of such applications, on such date. Section 58(1) provides that a stage carriage permit or a contract carriage permit other than a 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 a permit may be renewed on an application made and disposed of as if it were an application for a permit, provided that the application for the renewal of a permit shall be made (a) in the case of a stage carriage permit or a public carrier's permit, not less than sixty 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-section (3) the Authority is, notwithstanding anything contained in the first proviso to sub-s (2), authorised to entertain an application for the renewal of a permit after the last date specified in the said proviso, if the application is made not more than fifteen days after the said date. Section 63 deals with inter-regional and inter-state permits. The material parts of that section are:

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

3. A stage carriage permit granted by a Regional Transport Authority therefore remains effective without renewal for a period of not less than three years and not more than five years as the authority may specify in the permit. A person desiring to obtain renewal of the permit must, in the case of a stage carriage permit, make an application not less than sixty days before the date of its expiry, and the Authority has to deal with the application for the renewal as if it were an application for a permit. The procedure for obtaining renewal is assimilated to the procedure prescribed for an application for a 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 expiry, 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 a Regional Transport Authority in any region, is not valid unless the permit is countersigned by the Regional Transport Authority of that other region. The provisions of Ch. IV relating to the grant, revocation and suspension of permits apply to the grant, revocation and suspension of counter-signatures of permits.

4. The High Court has held, in the present case, that an application 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 Authority, Raipur date February 24, 1964 granting countersignature of the permit. It was argued on behalf of the appellant that the period of limitation prescribed by Section 58 of the Motor Vehicles Act cannot be applied to an application for countersignature of a renewed permit. It was submitted that the question of countersignature cannot arise unless and until the permit was first renewed and therefore it was erroneous to say that an application for counter signature should be made even before the permit was renewed and within the time prescribed by Section 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 countersignature of the Regional Transport Authority concerned was essential for the validity and confirmation of the grant made by the Regional Transport Authority having jurisdiction to grant a permit for the inter-regional route. It was pointed out the under Section 63(3) of the Motor Vehicles Act the provisions of Ch. IV relating to grant, revocation and suspension of permits apply to the grant, revocation and suspension of countersignature of permits and therefore the provisions of Sections 57 and 58 about the making of an application for the grant of a 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 Section 58 laid down that an application for renewal of a permit must be made, in the case of a stage carriage permit, not less than sixty days before the date of its expiry, it necessarily followed that an application for counter signature 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 expiry of the permit.

5. 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 a proper construction of the 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 countersignature on the permit for the inter-regional route granted by the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur in the present case. Under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 the Central Provinces 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:

By R. 63, Clause (a) it is provided:

Rule 61 substantially incorporates the provisions of sub-section (2) of Section 58 of the Motor Vehicles Act and the proviso thereto, and makes certain incidental provisions. Clause (a) of R. 62 provides that the application or renewal of counter signature of a permit shall be made to the Regional Transport Authority concerned and within the appropriate period prescribed by R. 61 but the provisions 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 inter-regional permit under the first proviso to Section 45 to countersign the permit so as to make it valid for the other region covered by the route. Therefore, even though by Section 63 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 power to countersign the permit is vested in the Authority which grants the renewal of the permit. The Legislature has by providing in the opening part of sub-section (1) of Section 63 "except as may be otherwise prescribed" made the provision subject to the rules framed by the State Government under Section 68 of the Motor Vehicles Act. The provisions of R. 63, therefore, must supersede the direction contained in Section 63(1) of the statute and the Regional Transport Authority,Bilaspur was competent in the present case to 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 permits in the present case is conferred on the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur. The exercise of such power of renewal depends not upon the direction 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 a legal right".(See Julius v. Bishop of Oxford, (1880) 5 AC 214 at p. 244). If the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur had power to renew the countersignature on the permit under Rule 63, it must be held that the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur had no such power under Section 62 because the latter rule is expressly made subject to the provisions of R. 63, and the power granted to the Regional Transport Authority under Rule 62 is taken away by the provisions of R. 63. It follows, therefore, that the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur was not competent to renew the countersignature on the permit in the present case and the Regional Transport Authority, Bilaspur was alone competent to renew the countersignature of the permit. We accordingly hold that the order of the Regional Transport Authority, Raipur dated February 24, 1964 granting countersignature of the permit was illegal and ultra vires and was rightly quashed by the High Court by its order dated November 13, 1964.

6. 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 decision of this Court in Bundelkhand Motor Transport Co., Nowgaon v. Behari Lal Chaurasia, C. A. No. 51 of 1965, dated 17-8-1965; 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 countersigned by the proper Regional Transport Authority with regard to the portion of the route outside that region.

7. We accordingly dismiss this appeal. There will be no order as to cost. We desire to express our thanks to Shri Iyengar who acted as amicus curiae in this case.

Appeal dismissed.