Civil Appeal No 874 of 1971 On appeal by Special Leave from the Judgment and Order dated 25 2 71 of the Andhra Pradesh High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad in Writ Petition No 9751969
M K Ramamurthy and J Ramamurthy for the Appellant
T V section N Chari B Parthasarthy A S Nambiar Attar Singh and G N Rao for the Respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by TULZAPURKAR J
In April 1960 the Regional Transport Authority Chittoor acting under section 47 3 of the decided to open a new long distance route called Tada to Tada ring route and fixed the number of vehicles for which stage carriage permits would be issued at two on that route
In August 1960 a Notification was published under section 57 2 of the Act inviting applications for the grant of two such stage carriage permits
Several applications received in pursuance of such Notification were notified 806 under section 57 3 on 18th October 1960 for submission of representations in connection therewith
Two permits one to K Ramachandra naidu and the other to Ms Associated Transports Madras Private Limited were granted by the Regional Transport Authority in November 1960 The unsuccessful applicants filed appeals to the Appellate Authority STAT who s t aside the order granting the two permits on the ground that the Regional Transport Authority itself had not been properly constituted inasmuch as it did not comprise a non official member as required by section 44 of the Act and the matter was remanded
Thereafter the Regional Transport Authority was properly constituted by including within it a non official member
However after it was so properly constituted the Regional Transport Authority did not issued a fresh Notification under section 57 2 inviting fresh applications but proceeded to consider the several applications that had been received in pursuance of the earlier Notification issued under section 57 2 and after re affirming the necessity for the grant of two permits only on that route granted two stage carriage permits one to the appellant R Srihari Naidu and the other to respondent No 5 Ms Navyandhra Labour Transport
In appeals preferred by the aggrieved applicants the Appellate Authority STAT confirmed the grant of the state carriage permit to respondent No 5 but set aside the permit granted to the appellant and instead granted it to respondent No4 V Janakirami Reddy
The appellant went in revision to the State Government against the order of the Appellate Authority but the same was rejected by the State Government in other words the grant of the permit to respondent No 4 in place of the appellant was confirmed
The appellant moved the High Court by means of a writ petition under article 226 of the Constitution and challenged the order of the State Government passed in revision on 18th March 1969
Two grounds were urged in support of the Writ Petition a that after the Regional transport Authority had been properly constituted no Notification inviting fresh applications was issued by that Authority but the authority only considered those applications which had been received by the Secretary of the earlier Body the Regional transport Authority invalidly constituted in breach of section 44 under the authority that had been delegated by that body to the Secretary the contention being that at the time when such earlier Notification was issued under section
S72 the delegation of power by such invalidly constituted Authority to its Secretary to issue such Notification would be invalid and therefore the further proceedings adopted for consideration of such applications and grant of permits pursuant to 807 such consideration was invalid and b that on merits the Appellate Authority ought not to have interfered with the five marks that had been granted to the appellant by the Regional Transport Authority and reduced the same to three and further that the Appellate Authority ought not to have relied upon the only solitary adverse entry in the appellant s record to reject his application while preferring that of respondent No 4
The High Court rejected both the contentions and dismissed the Writ Petition
It is this decision of the High Court that has been challenged by the appellant before us in this appeal
In support of the appeal counsel for the appellant pressed before us the self same two contentions that were urged before the High Court
In our view the first contention is liable to be rejected on three grounds
In the first place it was not disputed that applications under section 57 2 of the Act for the grant of stage carriage permits could be filed voluntarily and without any Notification being issued in that behalf If that be so the question whether a fresh Notification inviting fresh applications by the properly constituted Regional Transport Authority ought to have been issued or not or whether the properly constituted Regional Transport Authority could proceed to act on the earlier Notification issued by the Secretary would be immaterial and of no consequence and the ultimate decision not to grant stage carriage permit to the appellant cannot be disturbed on this ground
Secondly in our view the non issuance of a fresh Notification by the properly constituted Regional Transport Authority could if at all be made a ground of attack by those persons who were unable to make applications because of such non issuance and not by the appellant who had made an application in that behalf and who took his chance to obtain the permit on the basis of his application which was in fact considered by the Regional Transport Authority and thereafter by the Appellate Authority
Thirdly sub s2 of section 134 of the Act provides No order made by a competent authority under this Act shall be reversed or altered on appeal or revision on account of any error omission or irregularity in the proceedings unless it appears to the prescribed appellate authority or revisional authority as the case may be that such error omission or irregularity has in fact occasioned a failure of justice
 If was not disputed that the initial order granting the permit to the appellant was passed by a properly constituted Regional Transport 808 Authority and the appellate order was also passed by State Transport Appellate Tribunal which was the properly constituted Appellate Authority and both these Authorities had passed their orders on a consideration of the entire material placed before each of them and after giving a full hearing to the appellant and as such no failure of justice had occassioned therefore in our view the error or omission that is said to have taken place in the instant case of there being no proper Notification issued inviting applications for permits under s57 21 can not be made a ground to upset the final order that has been passed in the case
On these grounds the first contention must be rejected
As regards the second contention it must be observed that the High Court has taken the view that the contention really pertained to the merits of the claim of the stage carriage permit and it could not interfere with the finding of fact recorded against the appellant in that behalf in exercise of its extra ordinary jurisdiction under article 226 of the Constitution and alternatively the High Court has also taken the view that the grounds on which the marks of the appellant were reduced and the reasons for ultimate rejection of the appellant s application were justified
Having regard to this view of the High Court we do not feel that we should interfere in the matter on merits
The appeal is therefore
dismissed with no order as to costs
M L A Appeal dismissed


Summary:
An order granting two stage carriage permits by the Regional Transport Authority was set aside in appeal on the ground that the RTA had not been properly constituted
Thereafter the Regional Transport Authority on its proper constitution did not issue a fresh Notification section 57 2 of the inviting fresh applications but granted a stage carriage permit to the appellant on the basis of applications received in pursuance of the earlier Notification
On appeal by the aggrieved applicants the Appellate Authority set aside the said order and instead granted the permit to respondent No 4
The appellant s revision application before the State Government having been failed he filed a writ petition in the High Court against the order of the State Government on the grounds i that at the time when the earlier Notification was issued section 572 the delegation of power by the invalidly constituted Authority to its Secretary to issue such Notification would be invalid and therefore the further proceedings adopted for consideration of such applications and grant of permits pursuant to such consideration was invalid and ii that on merits the Appellate Authority ought not to have interfered with the five marks that had been granted to the appellant by the Regional Transport Authority and reduced the same to three and further that the Appellate Authority ought not to have relied upon the only solitary adverse entry in the appellant s record to reject his application while preferring that of respondent No 4
The High Court also dismissed the writ petition
The appellant advanced the same contentions before the Supreme Court Dismissing the appeal  HELD 1 The first contention is liable to be rejected on three grounds namely i It was not disputed that applications under section 57 2 of the Act for the grant of stage carriage permits could be filed voluntarily and without any Notification being issued in that behalf
If that be so the question whether a fresh Notification inviting fresh applications by the properly constituted Regional 805 Transport Authority ought to have bean issued or not or whether the properly A constituted Regional transport Authority could proceed to act on the earlier Notification issued by the Secretary would be immaterial and of no consequence and the ultimate decision not to grant stage carriage permit to the appellant cannot be disturbed on this ground ii The non issuance of a fresh Notification by the properly constituted Regional Transport Authority could if at all be made a ground of attack by those persons who were unable to make applications because of such non issuance and not by the appellant who had made an application in that behalf and who took his chance to obtain the permit on the basis of his application which was in fact considered by the Regional Transport Authority and thereafter by the Appellate Authority and iii The initial order granting the permit to the appellant was passed by a properly constituted Regional Transport Authority and the appellate order was also passed by State Transport Appellate Tribunal which was the properly constituted Appellate Authority and both these authorities had passed their orders on a consideration of the entire material placed before each of them and after giving a full hearing to the appellant and as such no failure of justice had occassioned
807C F H 8U8A 2 This Court will not be justified in interfering in the matter on merits since the High Court has rightly taken the view i that the second contention really pertained to the merits of the claim of the appellant to the stage carriage permit and it could not interfere with the finding of fact recorded against the appellant in that behalf in exercise of its extra ordinary jurisdiction under article 226 of the Constitution and ii that the grounds on which the marks of the appellant were reduced and the reasons for ultimate rejection of the appellant s application were justified
808C D