titions Nos
7897 7901 8077 86 8115 34 7969 78 4591 4598 of 1983 788 92 1360 2225 2365 67 of 1982 7924 52 8049 50 7963 68 8087 92 8093 97 8137 69 5824 5818 5233 4578 4577 4574 4576 8047 48 of 1983 7490 9282 3560 5625 5830 6071 75 6083 90 6098 6101 6102 29 6180 88 7046 47 7495 7613 14 7622 26 7656 60 7663 68 7670 82 8003 8005 8006 4583 8434 40 8427 33 5356 64 7618 21 7655 8391 93 3326 3939 6133 79 of 1983 9347 7800 and 9803 of 1982
Under article 32 of the Constitution of India
WITH Civil Appeal No 31 34 of 1981
Appeals from the judgment and order dated the 18th December 1980 of the Karnataka High Court in Writ Petitions Nos
21090 and 21339 of 1980
743 AND Civil Appeals Nos
1735 06 of 1981 Appeal by Special leave from the judgment and order dated the 19th May 1981 of the Karnataka State Transport Appellate Tribunal Bangalore in Appeal Nos 643 and 644 of 1980
AND Special Leave Petition No 2275 of 1982
From the Proceedings dated 6th October 1981 of the Secretary Karnataka State Transport Authority Bangalore in Subject No 165 of 1981
For the Appearing Parties K K Venugopal R B Datar  Ms Madhu Mool Chandani K N Bhatt A T M Sampath P N Ramalingam BP Singh section section Javali N K Sharma Harbans Lal R N Poddar N section Das Bahl V G Mehta V K Verma P R Mridul Vineet Kumar C section Vaidyanathan N Nettar B R L Iyengar PR Ramasesh P K Pillai R P Bhatt Swaraj Kaushal M Veerappa and A K Sharma
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by DESAI J
Appellants and petitioners in this group of appeals and special leave petition and writ petitions are persons who have obtained or were desirous of obtaining temporary tourist permits valid for the whole of India styled as All India Tourist Permit 
The chronology of events leading to the appeals and writ petitions may be briefly stated
Sub sec
7 was inserted in Sec 63 of the Act for short with effect from October 1 1970 empowering State Transport Authority in each State for the purpose of promoting tourism to grant permits valid for the whole or any part of India in respect of such number of tourist vehicles as the Central Government may in respect of that State specify in this behalf
The Central Government specified that the State Transport Authority in each State may grant permit as 744 contemplated by Sec 63 7 not exceeding 50 in number
Armed with this power the State Transport Authority of Karnataka State in all granted 36 such permits
There were thus 14 vacancies
It appears that several persons applied for temporary all India tourist permits to the State Transport Authority of Karnataka State
These applications for the permits were rejected and some of the applicants who were respondent Nos 3 to 11 in the writ petition in the High Court and who are appellants in this Court preferred appeals to State Transport Appellate Tribunal
The appellate tribunal purporting to exercise power under Sec
62 of the Act granted temporary all India tourist permits to them
Some of the holders of regular permits granted under sec
63 7 of the Act filed writ petitions in the High Court of Karnataka
By a common Judgment the Division Bench of the High Court allowed the writ petitions inter alia on the ground that the grant of a permit under Sec 63 7 must be in accordance with the provisions of the various sections set out therein which does not include Sec 62 under which alone temporary permit can be granted and therefore grant of temporary permits for tourist vehicles of all India operation is not permissible
Accordingly a writ of certiorary was issued guashing and setting aside the decision of the State Transport Appellate Authority
On the request of the present appellants the High Court granted a certificate under article 134 A of the Constitution as in its view a substantial question of law of general importance namely whether a temporary permit can be granted in respect of a tourist vehicle for all India operation does arise and further in its opinion the question needs to be decided by the Supreme Court
Hence some appeals by certificate
Following the decision of the High Court large number of appeals pending before the State Transport Appellate Authority were dismissed and the appellants whose appeals were dismissed have approached this Court under article 136 of the Constitution
Further a large number of writ petitions have been filed under article 32 of the Constitution questioning the correctness of the decision of various transport authorities refusing to grant temporary all India tourist permits and praying for a writ of mandamus directing the State Transport Authority of various States to grant such permits
A further prayer in some of the writ petitions is to the effect that that part of sub sec
7 of Sec 63 which enables the Central Government to prescribe a quota for each State in resp ct of all India tourist permits is violative of the Constitution and must be declared unconstitutional
745 As common questions have been raised in the appeals special leave petitions and the writ petitions they were heard together and are being disposed of by this common judgment
The narrow and the only question that was canvassed before us is whether there is power in any of the Transport Authorities as enumerated in Sec
44 of the Act to grant temporary all India tourist permits  In other words whether the power conferred by Sec
62 of the Act enabling the Regional Transport Authority without following the procedure laid down in Sec
57 to grant temporary permit as therein envisaged would comprehend the power to grant temporary all India tourist permits  We must frankly confess that this neat question of law is none too easy of answer and much can be said in support of rival contentions
At the outset let it be made distinctly clear that there is no nomenclature as regular or permanent all India tourist permit
63 7 has specified a permit that can be granted by the State Transport Authority of any State subject to the quota fixed by the Central Government valid for the whole or any part of India
In other words such a permit would enable the permit holder to undertake an all India operation which for brevity s sake may be described as all India tourist permit
63 7 speaks of such permit which may be granted after complying with the various sections of the Act therein set out
Such permits when granted may be styled as regular all India tourist permit in contradistinction to what the appellants and the petitioners seek as temporary all India tourist permit
A brief resume of the relevant provisions of the Act may shed light on the controversy raised before us
Expression contract carriage  is defined in Sec 2 3 to mean a motor vehicle which carries a passenger or passengers for hire or reward under a contract express or implied for the use of the vehicle as a whole at or for a fixed or agreed rate or sum etc Stage carriage  is defined in Sec 2 29 to mean a motor vehicle carrying or adapted to carry more than six persons excluding the driver which carries passengers for hire or reward at separate fares paid by or for individual passengers either for the whole journey or for stages of the journey
Expression tourist vehicle  is defined in Sec
229 A to Mean a contract carriage constructed or adapted and equipped and maintained in accordance with such specifications as the State Government may by notification in the official Gazette specify in this behalf
The defini 746 tion of tourist vehicle  was introduced by Amending Act 56 of 1969 by which Sec 63 7 was also introduced
Chapter IV bears the heading Control of Transport Vehicles 
42 prohibits owner of a transport vehicle to use the same in the public place save in accordance with the conditions of a permit granted under the relevant provisions of the Act
It may be recalled that transport vehicle includes goods vehicle as well as passenger vehicle
Thus no passenger vehicles can be used in any public place without a permit
44 requires the State Government to constitute various transport authorities in each State such as State Transport Authority to exercise and discharge the powers and functions specified in sub sec
3 as also Regional Transport Authority to exercise and discharge throughout such areas referred to as regions as may be specified in the notification powers and functions conferred on such authority
It would appear that a State Transport Authority is to be constituted for the whole State
The State is to be divided into various regions and a Regional Transport Authority has to be constituted for one or more of such regions
The powers and functions of the State Transport Authority are generally stated in sub sec
3 which include a the duty to co ordinate and regulate the activities and policies of the Regional Transport Authority if any of the State b to perform the duties of a Regional Transport Authority where there is no such authority and if it thinks fit or if so required by a Regional Transport Authority to perform those duties in respect of any route common to two or more regions c to settle the disputes and decide all matters on which differences of opinion arise between Regional Transport Authorities and d to discharge such other functions as may be prescribed
45 makes general provisions as to applications for permits
Sub sec
2 of Sec
45 provides that notwithstanding anything contained in sub sec
1 the State Government may by notification in the official Gazette direct that in the case of any vehicle or vehicles proposed to be used in two or more regions Lying in DIFFERENT States the application under Sec
45 1 shall be made to the State Transport Authority of the region in which the applicant resides or has his principal place of business
46 specifies the contents of an application for a stage carriage permit
49 prescribes the requirements of an application for a contract carriage permit
One of the requirements is to specify the area for which the permit is required
Primarily an application for a contract carriage has to be made to Regional Transport Authority as transpires from Secs
50 and 51
It is necessary to notice this fact because an all India tourist permit is none the less a contract carriage permit with 747 this difference that its area of operation is the whole of India
It would further transpire from a combined reading of Secs
49 50 and 51 that an application for a contract carriage permit with its operational jurisdiction intra State has to be made to the Regional Transport Authority and if inter State operation is contemplated the application has to be made to the State Transport Authority of the region in which the applicant resides or has his principal place of business as contemplated by Sec
45 2
This becomes further manifest from the provisions of Sec 63
1 which provides that except as otherwise provided a permit granted by the Regional Transport Authority of any one region shall not be valid in any region unless the permit has been counter signed by the Regional Transport Authority of that other region and a permit granted in any one State shall not be valid in any other State unless counter signed by the State Transport Authority of that other State or by the Regional Transport Authority concerned
Sub sec
6 of Sec
63 starts with a non obstante clause and it provides that notwithstanding anything contained in sub sec
but subject to any rules that may be made under this Act the Regional Transport Authority of any one region may for the convenience of the public grant a special permit in relation to a public service vehicle for carrying a passenger or passengers for hire or reward under a contract express of implied for the use of the vehicle as a whole without stopping to pick up or set down along the line of route passengers not included in the contract
11 Then comes sub sec
7 of Sec 63 which enables the State Transport Authority to grant regular all India tourist permit
It may be extracted Notwithstanding anything contained in sub section 1 but subject to any rules that may be made under this Act any State Transport Authority may for the purpose or promoting tourism grant permits valid for the whole or any part of India in respect of such number of tourist vehicles as the Central Government may in respect of that State specify in this behalf and the provisions of Sections 49 50 51 57 58 59 59 A 60 61 and 64 shall as far as may be apply in relation to such permits
 There is a proviso to the section which is immaterial for the present purpose
Sub sec
7 of Sec 63 which confers power on a State transport Authority to grant regular all India tourist permit makes 748 it obligatory that while granting such permits or in order to grant such permit or with a view to obtain such permit the applicant as well as the concerned authority shall have to act in accordance with Secs
49 50 51 57 58 59 59 A 60 61 and 64 as far as may apply in relation to such permits
A reference to Sec
62 at this stage is necessary because the State Transport Appellate Authority reversed the decision of the Regional Transport Authority and directed grant of temporary all India tourist permit under the erroneous understanding that such temporary permits can be granted under Sec
reads as under 62
Temporary permits 1 A Regional Transport Authority may without following the procedure laid down in Section 57 grant permits to be effective for a limited period not in any case to 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 any may attach to any such permit any condition it thinks fit Provided that a temporary permit under this section shall in no case be granted in respect of any route or area specified in an application for the grant of a new permit under Section 46 or Section 54 during the pendency of the application Provided further that a temporary permit under this section shall in no case be granted more than once in respect of any route or area specified in an application for the renewal of a permit during the pendency of such application for renewal
749 2 Notwithstanding anything contained in subsection 1 a temporary permit may be granted there under in respect of any route or area where i no permit could be issued under Section 48 or Section 51 or Section 54 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 or 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 trans port 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 the temporary permit is so granted shall not exceed the number of vehicles in respect of which the issue of a permit has been restrained or as the case may be the permit has been suspended
 Translating these various provisions into functional implementation an applicant who desires to obtain a permit for a tourist vehicle has to make an application under Sec 63 7
Such an application has to be processed as required by Sec 49 which would immediately imprint the application as an application for a contract carriage permit with this difference that it shall have an all India operation
If it is an application simpliciter for a contract carriage permit Sec
50 would necessitate the application being made to Regional Transport Authority but if the contract carriage permit is to be valid for an inter State operation obviously the application will have to be made to State Transport Authority Sec
63 7 also requires that an application for all India tourist permit has to be made to State Transport Authority
Therefore even though an application for contract carriage permit has ordinarily to be made to Regional Transport Authority if all India operation is desired in respect 750 of a tourist vehicle the same has to be made to the State Transport Authority
This application has to be processed according to the procedure prescribed in Sec
A contract carriage permit other than the one having an all India operation must specify the area or the route or routes on which the permit holder can ply the vehicle under the authority of contract carriage permit as required by Sec
Permit contemplated by Sec 63 7 can be granted and shall be effective without renewal for such period not less than 3 years and not more than 5 years as the authority granting the permit may specify
See Sec 58
In view of the power conferred by Sec 60 the transport authority which granted the permit will have the power to cancel or suspend the same if one or more of the conditions prescribed in Sec
60 are satisfied
Sec 63 7 for the first time conferred power on the State Transport Authority in a State to grant a permit which will enable the permit holder to use the tourist vehicle for all India operation without complying with sub sec
1 of Sec 63 which required countersignature of tho State Transport Authority or the Regional Transport Authority as the case may be of State or region other than the one by which the permit is granted to undertake an operation in the area within the jurisdiction of the counter signing State Transport Authority or Regional Transport Authority as the case may be
Therefore unquestionably even though the permit contemplated by Sec 63 7 has a larger operational area it is none the less a contract carriage permit and Sec 63 7 mandated that the authority granting such permit will have to comply with all the sections except Sec 62 which have to be complied with for obtaining a contract carriage permit contemplated by Sec
Why was Sec
62 omitted from Sec 63 7 is the root question  The High Court in this connection observed that since subsection 6 of Sec 63 has provided for grant of special permits for all India operation of contract carriages it is reasonable to infer that the omission to mention Sec
62 in the latter part of sub sec
7 of Sec 63 was deliberate and that the legislature did not intend grant of temporary permits for tourist vehicles for all India operation
 This view is assailed on behalf of the appellants and the writ petitioners
It was contended that as an elaborate procedure is prescribed for grant of stage carriage permit or contract carriage permit and that it being a prolix and time consuming process Sec
62 keeping in 751 view the urgent or emergent need to provide transport facilities to travelling public conferred power on Regional Transport Authority to grant temporary permit to meet a particular temporary need or for purposes of seasonal business or pending decision of an application for the renewal of a permit
It was urged that if either a stage carriage or contract carriage permit can be granted by a Regional Transport Authority to meet a particular temporary need or pending decision of an application for the renewal of a permit the Regional Transport Authority can as well grant temporary all India tourist permit for the self same reasons
There are two fallacies in the submissions on behalf of the appellants and the writ petitioners
62 confers power on the Regional Transport Authority to grant temporary permit
A Regional Transport Authority is set up for a region
The jurisdiction of the Regional Transport Authority extends over a region which is usually a small part of the State because for the purposes of the Act State has to be divided into regions
Power to grant temporary permit is conferred on Regional Transport Authority amongst others meet a particular temporary need
Regional Transport Authority having jurisdiction over a comparatively small area may be able to gauge notice or appreciate a particular temporary need for which a temporary permit can be granted for a period not exceeding 4 months without following the procedure prescribed
in Sec
The same power can be enjoyed pending the renewal of an already granted permit
By its very nature
62 caters to a situation where permits to operate vehicles may be granted for a short period to meet some temporary or emergency requirement or where time is likely to be spent in processing an application for renewal of a permit and in the interregnum the travelling public may not be put to inconvenience on account of non availability of vehicles with permits
The Madhya Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation vs The Regional Transport Authority Raipur1 An authority having jurisdiction over a comparatively small area is favourably placed to notice a situation as contemplated by Sec
Therefore the power is conferred on Regional Transport Authority and not the State Transport Authority to grant temporary permit in the circumstances set out in Sec
62 because State Transport Authority has jurisdiction over the whole State and the State Transport Authority exercising the power under Sec 63 7 will have to have an all India perspective
752 Therefore the statute did not confer such power on State
Transport Authority because by its very nature the Regional Transport Authority having jurisdiction over a comparatively smaller area would be better equipped to appreciate and deal with the needs of the travelling public of a temporary character or pending the renewal of a permit
There is intrinsic evidence in the language of Sec 62 that it was meant to be used by Regional Transport Authority for dealing with a situation within its small area
If Regional Transport Authority is not competent to grant regular all India tourist permit no canon of construction would permit the Court to clothe him with power to grant temporary all India tourist permit
Even if the dictum that the power to grant final relief inheres the power to grant interim relief can be extended to executive authority yet when the Regional Transport Authority has no power to grant regular all India tourist permit it would be impossible to hold that such authority has none the less the power to grant temporary all India tourist permit
Therefore the very language of Sec 62 on which the High Court substantially relied in support of its conclusion would be sufficient to negative the contention canvased on behalf of the appellants and the petitioners
It was however urged that Sec 44 3 contemplates a situation where a State Transport Authority has to perform the duties of Regional Transport Authority and therefore the expression Regional Transport Authority  in Sec
62 would either comprehend State Transport Authority or would not atleast exclude the power conferred on the lower authority to be enjoyed by the higher authority
44 3 would not render any help in this behalf because it merely provides that a State Transport Authority can perform the duties of a Regional Transport Authority where there is no such Authority or where if it thinks fit or if so required by a Regional Transport Authority to perform those duties in respect of any route common to two or more regions
None of these conditions under which a State Transport Authority can perform the functions and discharge the duties of a Regional Transport Authority are satisfied and there fore it is difficult to accept the submission that the expression Regional Transport Authority  used in Sec
62 will comprehend State Trans port Authority
It is equally not possible to accept the submission that when a power is conferred on a lower authority that power can always be enjoyed by the authority higher in the hierarchy in relation to the lower authority
There is no express provision in the statute which provides that the Stats Transport Authority can always and 753 without any fetter enjoy the power of the Regional Transport Authority and in the absence of such provision it is difficult to read merely on the basis of vertical hierarchy wherever the lower authority is mentioned in the statute the higher authority be included therein
Viewed from this angle we do not propose to undertake the exercise of ascertaining whether State Transport Authority can be said to be the higher authority in relation to Regional Transport Authority
It was urged that temporary permit can be granted pending decision of an application for a renewal of a permit and that as in the State of Karnataka out of a quota of 50 permits granted by the Central Government under Sec 63 7 only 36 have been issued the State Transport Authority can grant temporary permit for the vacancies till regular all India tourist permits are granted
Support was sought to be drawn for the submission from cl
d of sub sec
1 of Sec 62 which provides that temporary permit can be granted pending decision on an application for the renewal of a permit
The section does not provide for grant of temporary permits pending grant of a regular permit
On the contrary the first proviso to Sec
62 1 makes what is implicit in the cl
d explicit by providing that a temporary permit under Sec
62 shall in no case be granted in respect of any route or area specified in an application for the grant of a new permit under Section 46 or Sec
54 during the pendency of the application
It may be recalled that Sec
46 provides for an application for a stage carriage permit and Sec
54 provides for an application for public carriers permit
Therefore in no case a temporary permit can be granted under the section pending grant of or renewal or a contract carriage permit
Sub sec 2 of Sec
62 however carves out an exception where a temporary contract carriage permit can be granted in respect of any route or area where no permit could be issued by reason of an order of the court or other competent authority restraining the issue of the same
That is not the case here
Therefore there is no power to grant a temporary contract carriage permit and ipso facto the temporary all India tourist permit under Sec
62 and the contention stands negatived by the very language of Sec
62 Accordingly there is no merit in the submission
A few days after the arguments were concluded and the matter stood over for Judgment Mr K N Bhatt learned counsel for some of the petitioners submitted a written brief in which it was stated that the in its application to the State of 754 Karnataka was amended by the Motor Vehicles Mysore Amendment Act 1973 Karnataka Act No 25 of 1975 which after receiving the assent of the President came into force on January 12 1974 has introduced the following sentence at the end of sub sec
2 of Sec 45
The sentence reads as under When such a notification is issued reference to the Regional Transport Authority in Sections 47 48 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58 62 63 and 68 shall in respect of the application for permit for using a vehicle in two or more regions Lying in different States be construed as reference also to the State Transport Authority
 By the same Amending Act sub sec
2A has been added in Sec
45 which reads as under Notwithstanding anything contained in sub section 1 the State Government may by notification in the official Gazette direct that in the case of any vehicle or vehicles proposed to be used in two or more regions lying in the State the application under that sub section shall be made to the State Transport Authority
When such a notication is issued reference to the Regional Transport Authority in sections 47 48 50 51 53 54 55 56 57 58
62 63 and 68F shall in respect of applications for permit for using a vehicle in two or more regions lying in the State be construed as reference also to the State Trans port Authority
 Relying on these amendments it was urged that as far as the State of Karnataka is concerned on the issue of a notification under sub sec 2A of Sec 45 the expression Regional Transport Authority  in Sec
62 will also comprehend State Transport Authority and therefore the submission of the appellants and the petitioners cannot be negatived on the ground that only Regional Transport Authority is empowered to issue temporary permits
Though no notification as required under sub sec
2A of Sec
45 was brought to our notice we are prepared to proceed on the assumption that such a notification has been issued
But even if in the application of the to the State of Karnataka Sec 62 would also enable State Transport Authority to issue temporary permit it can only be done in the circumstances and eventualities mentioned in that
755 section
It will be presently pointed out that power to grant temporary permit under Sec
62 in the circumstances and eventualities therein mentioned would not comprehend the power to grant temporary all India tourist permit because none of the conditions under which the same can be granted would be attracted and State Transport Authority of a State will have no material for satisfaction of one or the other condition set out in Sec
62 which would enable it to grant such a permit
Therefore this amendment would hardly make any difference in the outcome of the matter
It was urged that the High Court was in error in attaching importance to the omission of Sec 62 from array of sections subject to which an application for an all India tourist permit has to be processed which according to the High Court clearly manifests the legislative intention that there was no question of granting under any circumstances temporary all India tourist permit
It was contended that omission of Sec
62 is quite logical because if it was placed amongst the array of sections subject to which applications for all India tourist permit have to be processed it would have become incongruous
Proceeding along this line it was submitted that Sec 63 7 provides that such permit  as contemplated by Sec 63 7 will be granted in accordance with the various provisions set out therein the expression such permit  can only mean regular or all India tourist permit and the temporary all India tourist permit was not to be catered to by Sec 63 7 but by Sec 62 and therefore it was rightly omitted from the array of sections set out in sec
63 7
If one were to conclude from the mere omission of Sec 62 from amongst the array of sections subject to which an application for permit under sec
63 7 will have to be processed that no temporary all India tourist permit can be granted there would have been some force in the submission on behalf of the appellants and the writ petitioners
But we would presently point that the whole concept of granting temporary all India tourist permit is foreign to the concept of all India tourist permit and that this conclusion gets reinforced by the omission of Sec 62 from the array of various sections subject to to which a permit under Sec
63 7 can be granted
Sub section 7 was introduced in Sec 63 in 1970
The object underlying the introduction of sub sec
7 becomes manifest from the language used therein
Till the introduction of sub sec
7 the situation was that the Regional Transport Authority can grant contract carriage permit valid for the area under its jurisdiction or when counter signed by the State Transport Authority of the other State 756 then the vehicle can be operated in that other State
Now with a view to promoting tourism it was decided to clothe State Transport Authority with power to issue a permit which without the necessity of obtaining counter signature of other Transport Authority of other State valid for operating the vehicle throughout the length and breadth of the country
With a view to providing uninterrupted flow of tourist traffic thereby expanding tourist facilities which would promote tourism in the country a contract carriage permit with all India operation was conceived and power was conferred on the State Transport Authority subject to the quota prescribed by the Central Government for each State to grant such permit
Every State had the prescribed quota and we were informed that at present each State has a quota of 50 permits
Within the quota State Transport Authority in each State can grant a contract carriage permit in respect of a tourist vehicle for all India operation
A contract carriage permit can as well be granted under Sec
51 in respect of a vehicle which carries a passenger or passengers for hire or reward under a contract express or implied for the use of the vehicle as a whole at or for a fixed or agreed rate or sum etc
Any ordinary vehicle meeting the requirements of law can be operated under a contract carriage permit granted under Sec
But when it comes to granting of a contract carriage permit available for all India operation it has to be in respect of a tourist vehicle
Tourist vehicle has been defined to mean a contract carriage constructed or adapted and equipped and maintained in accordance with such specifications as the State Government may by notification in the official Gazette specify in this behalf
We were told that some special arrangements for comfortable journey over long distances has to be provided in a tourist vehicle
What is the distinction  An all India tourist permit is none the less a contract carriage permit but while contract carriage permit can be granted for any vehicle not required to be specially adapted for the purpose a contract carriage permit for all India operation as envisaged by Sec 63 7 can only be granted in respect of tourist vehicle and it appears that it requires a substantial financial investment for adapting a vehicle as a tourist vehicle
This intrinsic evidence shows that such huge or heavy outlay cannot be imposed on an applicant by giving him temporary all India tourist permit which cannot be granted for a period extending 4 months
If Sec
62 were to be a proviso to Sec 63 7 and therefore one can conceive of granting a temporary all India tourist permit for meeting a particular temporary need it is difficult to envisage a particular temporary need of an all India variant which can be 757 noticed by State Transport Authority of one State and such authority can proceed side tracking all relevant provisions to grant temporary all India tourist permit
Can there conceivably be a particular temporary need felt throughout India at the same time  If the answer is in the affirmative all the States can grant temporary permits
There will be more vehicles and less travellers
Further a State Transport Authority of one State may believe that there exists a particular temporary need but the view of the other State Transport Authority can be exactly to the contrary and State Transport Authority
Of one State can open the flood gates of temporary permits permitting tourist vehicles to invade other States
It may be that a particular temporary need may arise in one State but that can be catered to by the Regional Transport Authority of the region or the State Transport Authority of the State giving direction to Regional Transport Authority to grant contract carriage permit under Sec 51
It is not necessary to have recourse to Sec 63 7 in such a situation and if one State cannot cater to the particular all India need other States having their own quota can fill in the bill
Having thus examined the whole concept of all India tourist permit the question of granting of a tourist permit to cater to a particular temporary need appears to be foreign to the very concept of all India tourist permit
For this additional reason we are of the opinion that the High Court was perfectly justified in reaching the E conclusion that there is no power to grant temporary all India tourist permit and the High Court rightly set aside the decision of the State Transport Appellate Authority
No case is therefore made out for interfering with the same
Accordingly all these appeals special leave petitions and writ petitions fail and each of which is dismissed with costs where appearance has been entered into on the other side
All interim orders are vacated
HLC Appeals and petitions dismissed


Summary:
In order to promote tourism the Act for short was amended in 1970 and sub sec
7 was inserted in section 63 empowering the State Transport Authority in each state to grant permits valid for the whole or any part of India in respect of such number of tourist vehicles as may be specified by the Central Government
The Central Government specified that every State Transport Authority may grant such permit not exceeding 50 in number
The State Transport Authority of Karnataka issued 36 such permits and there were 14 vacancies
Several persons applied for temporary all India tourist permits to the State Transport Authority
The State Transport Authority rejected the applications
On appeal the State Transport Appellate Tribunal purporting to exercise power under section 62 of the Act granted temporary all India tourist permits
On writ petitions filed by some of the holders of regular permits under section 637 the High Court quashed and set aside the decision of the State Transport Appellate Tribunal
The appellants and the petitioners who had obtained or were desirous of obtaining temporary all India tourist permits challenged the correctness of the decision of the High Court
The appellants urged 1 that the Regional Transport Authority can grant temporary all India tourist permits for the reasons mentioned in sec
62 2 that the State Transport Authority of Karnataka can grant temporary permits for the vacancies till regular all India tourist permits were granted 3 that in view of the provisions of sec
443 the expression Regional Transport Authority would either comprehend State Transport Authority or would not at least exclude the power conferred on the lower authority to be enjoyed by the higher authority 4 that as far as the State of Karnataka was concerned on the issue of notification under sub sec
2A of sec
45 the expression Regional Transport Authority  in sec
62 will also comprehend State Transport Authority
and S that the expression such permit  in sec
637 could only mean regular or all India tourist permit and the temporary all India tourist permit was not to be catered to by sec
637 but by sec
62 and therefore sec
62 was rightly omitted from the array of sections set out in sec
637
Dismissing the appeals special leave petitions and writ petitions 741  HELD There is no power to grant temporary all India tourist permit under sec
757 E An Authority having jurisdiction over a comparatively small area is favourably placed to notice a situation as contemplated by sec
Therefore sec
62 confers power on the Regional Transport Authority the jurisdiction of which extends over a region which ii usually a small part of the State to grant temporary permits to operate vehicles for a short period to meet some temporary or emergency requirement or pending the renewal of an already granted permit
There is intrinsic evidence in the language of sec
62 that this power was meant to be used by Regional Transport Authority for dealing with a situation within its small area
If Regional Transport Authority is not competent to grant regular all India tourist permit no canon of construction would permit the Court to clothe him with power to grant temporary all India tourist permit
752 A D The Madhya Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation vs the Regional Transport Authority Raipur 1965 3 SCR 786 referred to
Section 621d does not provide for grant of temporary permits pending grant of a regular permit
On the contrary the first proviso to Sec
621 makes what is implicit in cl
d explicit by providing that a temporary permit under sec
62 shall in no case be granted in respect of any route or area specified in an application for the grant of a new permit under sec
46 or sec
54 during the pendency of the application
It may be recalled that sec
46 provides for an application for a stage carriage and sec
54 provides for an application for public carrier s permit
Therefore in no case a temporary permit can be granted under the section pending grant of or renewal of a contract carriage permit
Sub sec
2 of sec
62 however carves out an exception where a temporary contract carriage permit can be granted in respect of any route or area where no permit could be issued by reason of an order of the court or other competent authority restraining the issue of the same
That is not the case here
Therefore there is no power to grant a temporary contract carriage permit and ipso facto the temporary all India tourist permit under sec
753 D G Sec
443 merely provides that a State Transport Authority can perform the duties of a Regional Transport Authority where there is no such Authority or where if it thinks fit or if so required by a Regional Transport Authority to perform those duties in respect of any route common to two or more regions
In the instant case none of these conditions under which a State Transport Authority can perform the functions and discharge the duties of a Regional Transport Authority are satisfied and therefore it is difficult to accept tho submission that the expression Regional Transport Authority  used in sec
62 will comprehend State Transport Authority
Even if in its application the Act with its local amendment to the State of Karnataka sec
62 would enable the State Transport Authority to issue a temporary permit this would hardly make any difference because the power to grant temporary permit under sec
62 in the circumstances and eventualities therein mentioned would not comprehend 742 the power to grant temporary all India tourist permit because none of the conditions under which the same can be granted would be attracted and the State Transport Authority will have no material for satisfaction of one or the other conditions set out in Sec 62 which would enable it to grant such a permit
There is no express provision in the Act which provides that the State Transport Authority can always and without any fetter enjoy the power of the Regional Transport Authority and in the absence of such provision it is difficult to read merely on the basis of vertical hierarchy wherever the lower authority is mentioned in the statue the higher authority be included therein
752 E H 753 A B The whole concept of granting temporary all India tourist permit is foreign to the concept of all India tourist permit
An all India touris permit is none the less a contract carriage permit but while contract carriage permit can be granted for any vehicle not required to be specially adopted for the purpose a contract carriage permit for all India operation as envisaged by sec
637 can only be granted in respect of tourist vehicle and it appears that it requires a substantial financial investment for adapting a vehicle as a tourist vehicle
This intrinsic evidence shows that such huge or heavy outlay cannot be imposed on an applicant by giving him temporary all India tourist permit which can if at all be granted for a period extending 4 months 756 E G If sec
62 were to be a proviso to sec
637 and therefore one can conceive of granting a temporary all India tourist permit for meeting a particular temporary need it is difficult to envisage a particular need of an all India variant which can be noticed by State Transport Authority of one State and such authority can proceed side tracking all relevant provisions to grant temporary all India tourist permit
756 H 757 A