Appeal No 2568 of 1991
From the Judgment and Order dated 1051991 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in MP No 2727 of 1990
SK Mehta RD Sharma Dhruv Mehta Arvind Verma and Aman Vachher for the Appellants
Rameshwar Nath and Ravinder Nath for Rajinder Narain  Co for the Respondents
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by RM SAHAI J
The only legal question that arises for consideration in this appeal directed against judgment of the Madhya Pradesh High Court is if an application filed by an operator for renewal of his permit under Section 58 of  became extinct and was rendered non existent
in eye of law after coming into force of or it being a right within meaning of clause c of Section 6 of survived and continued despite repeal of 1939 Act
The appellant holder of a permit for operating stage carrier on route Eklera Narsinghgarh in District Rajgarh applied for its renewal as required on 18th October 1988 120 days before the date of its expiry on 18th February 1989 under Section 582 of the 1939 Act
The application was published on 23rd June 1989 under Section 573 of the Act
But before renewal could be granted 1988 Act came into force on 1st July 1989
The respondent who too had applied on 30th December 1988 for a fresh permit on the same route and on the same time schedule withdrew his application and filed a fresh application on 18th May 1990
The Regional Transport Authority after considering both the applications allowed renewal of the appellant s permit from 18th Febru ary 1989 to 18th February 1994
The application of re spondent was rejected as that could be considered only if the appellant s existing permit was cancelled but since the appellant was operating on the route regularly and paying taxes etc
there was no reason to refuse renewal
In an appeal to the State Transport Appellate Tribunal held that no appeal against renewal was maintainable against which the respondent filed writ petition which was 308 allowed and it was held that right to seek renewal of permit under a Motor Vehicle Act was not a vested right
It was merely an incohate right with ripens into a right only on being granted
But before this could happen the 1939 Act was repealed
Effect of it was that the application ceased to exist
Thus there was nothing pending which could empower the Regional Transport Authority to grant renewal
Is this correct Could the application for renewal be dismissed only because of enforcement of 1988 Act or the right of the appellant to get his application under the earlier Act decided in accordance with law subsisted and survived under the new Act as well
The answer shall depend on construction of Section 217 the repealing and saving provision in 1988 Act read with Section 6 of the 
Sub Section 1 of Section 217 of 1988 Act repeals 1939 Act
But Sub Section 2 saves certain notifi cations rules regulations Acts etc
Clause b of sub section 2 reads as under 2171 Notwithstanding the repeal by sub section 1 of the repealed enactments b any certificate of fitness or registra tion or licence or permit issued or granted under the repealed enactments shall continue to have effect after such commencement under the same conditions and for the same period as if this Act had not been passed On strength of this it was urged on behalf of the respond ents that the only saving was in respect of unexpired period of a permit
However what is relevant is sub section 4 of Section 217 which provides as follows S2174 The mention of particular matter in this Section shall not be held to prejudice or affect the general application of section 6 of the 10 of 1897 with regard to the effect of repeals
 How such a provision should be construed was explained by this Court in The Brihan Maharashtra Sugar Syndicate Ltd vs Janardan Ramchandra Kulkarni  Others  It was held that such a provision was not by way of abundant caution and any proceedings pending under repeated Act could be continued in view of Section 6 of 
Section 658 of which was a repealing and saving provision which was considered by the Court read as under The mention of particular matters in sections 645 to 657 or in any other provision of this Act shall not prejudice the general ap 309 plication of s6 of the X of 1897 with respect to the effect of repeals
 It should be noticed that phraseology of Section 658 of the and sub section 4 of Section 217 of the is identical
Therefore the reason ing given in the decision squarely applies for construction of sub section 4 of Section 217
Consequently it could not be successfully argued that sub section 2 of Section 217 is exhaustive and sub section 4 should be read by way of abundant caution and applied only to the field which is already covered by sub section 2
Section 6 of the may now be extracted S6
Effect of repeal Where this Act or any Central Act or Regulation made after the commencement of this Act repeals any enact ment hitherto made or hereafter to be made then unless a different intention appears the repeal shall not c affect any right privilege obligation or liability acquired accrued or incurred under any enactment so repealed  e             The objective of the provision is to ensure protection of any right or privilege acquired under the repealed Act
The only exception to it is legislative intention to the contrary
That is the repealing Act may expressly provide or it may impliedly provide against continuance of such right obligation or liability
The controversy thus narrows down to if the renewal of a permit under 1939 Act was a right
In other words whether any right accrued to the appellant under the repealed Act which could be said to continue unaffected by the repeal of the Act
A permit could be renewed under Section 582 of 1939 Act which reads as under S582
A permit may be renewed on an appli cation 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 one hundred and twenty days before the date of its expiry and 310 b in any other case not less than sixty days before the date of its expiry Provided further that other condi tions being equal an application for renewal shall be given preference over new applica tions for permits Although the Section uses the word may  but read with proviso it creates a preference in favour of a permit holder to claim renewal if other conditions were equal
A holder of a permit thus stands on a better footing
The preference created by sub section 2 of Section 58 for consideration of the permit and its grant cannot be said to be a mere incohate right or a right which does not exist in law
It may not be a vested right or a fundamental right but it certainly is civil right which could be enforced in a court of law and any authority acting in contravention of it can be forced to act in accordance with it
For instance if a Regional Transport Authority under the old Act refused renewal even though the person applying for renewal was in all respects similar to other new applicants then it could be corrected either by the tribunal or by way of writ peti tion under Article 226
Therefore
It is a right which is enforceable in law
This right accrued to appellant as he had already applied for renewal and his application had been notified
The legal machinery was set in motion by him
He theretore had a right to get his application for renewal processed and considered in accordance with 1939 Act
It would be too artificial to say that it was not a right or it had not accrued under 1939 Act
Therefore in our opinion by virtue of Section 6c of the the right of the appellant to get his application considered and decided in accordance with law was saved by sub section 4 of Section 217 of 
In Cheran Transport Co Ltd vs Kanan Lorry Service  Anr  at 390 It was held that the setting of a legal process in accordance with law for renewal of permit was itself a right
This principle was laid down by this Court even when a scheme under Section 68f had been pub lished which debarred grant or renewal of any permit yet the court was of the opinion tb at since there was undue delay and the applicant had done all that he could do in law he could not be deprived of his right of consideration of his application for renewal so long the scheme was not pub lished
This was again approved in D Nataraja Mudaliar vs State Transport Authority Madras 1979 1 SCR 552
The Court pointed out that a permit holder had an ordinary right of renewal
It is thus obvious that the High Court committed a manifest error of law in throwing out the application of renewal as the new Act had come into force
311 Does the new Act indicate any intention to the contrary No express provision debarring renewal of permits applied for under old Act could be pointed out
Reliance was placed on absence of preferential provision under Section 81 of the Act which provides for renewal of permits
It was urged that there was a definite departure from the old Act therefore any right under the old Act could not be continued to under the new Act
The submission does not appear to be sound
The new Act is a legislation on the same subject
Section 81 specifically provides for renewal
It cuts across the argu ment of intention to the contrary
Rather it is kept alive by Sub section 4 of Section 217
The scheme of renewal having been continued even under new Act mere absence of preference clause in Section 81 of the new Act could not be construed as destroying the claim for renewal set in motion under the old Act
In the result this appeal succeeds and is allowed
The order passed by the High Court is set aside
Parties shall bear their own costs
TNA Appeal allowed


Summary:
The petitioners All India Judges  Association filed an application under Article 32 of the Constitution of India for directions of this Court for setting up of an All India Judicial Service for bringing about uniform conditions of service for members of the subordinate judiciary provision of residential accommodation transport facility library and in service training for judicial officers
Disposing of the writ petition this Court HELD 1
For a civilised society an enlightened inde pendent judiciary is totally indispensable
1231 A 2
Rendering justice is a difficult job
Unless the judi cial officer 207 has a reasonably worry free mental condition it would be difficult to expect unsoiled justice from his hands
223 C 3
A judge ought to be wise enough to know that he is fallible and therefore even ready to learn and be coura geous enough to acknowledge his errors
The conduct of every judicial officer should be above reproach
He should be coscientious studious thorough courteous patient punc tual just impartial fearless of public clamour regardless of public praise and indifferent to private political or partisan influences he should administer justice according to law and deal with his appointment as a public trust he should not allow other affairs or his private interests to interfere with the prompt and proper performance of his judicial duties nor should he administer the office for the purpose of advancing his personal ambitions or increasing his popularity
231 F H 4
Under the Constitution the concept of Rule of Law came to be accepted and developed
Article 50 prescribed the guideline of separating the judiciary from the executive in the public services of the State
This position is the outcome of recognition of the fact that the judiciary is a class separate from the executive
211 D 5
The Trial Judge is the kingpin in the hierarchical system of administration of justice
He directly comes in contact with the litigant during the proceedings in Court
On him lies the responsibility of building up of the case appropriately and on his understanding of the matter the cause of justice is first answered
The personality knowl edge judicial restraint capacity to maintain dignity are the additional aspects which go into making the courts  functioning successful
225 F G 6
The District Judge is the principal judicial officer of the district
It is the obligation of the district judge to operate as the captain of the team both under his direct supervision at the headquarters and in respect of the offi cers located in different areas within his district
Of late lower or subordinate courts are being established in the outlying and rural interior
It is the obligation of the district judge to inspect the outlying courts maintain the proper judicial tempo and temper of functioning in his district and be responsible 1or the efficient running of the system
221 G 222 A 7
The High Courts must take greater interest in the proper functioning of the subordinate judiciary
Inspection should not be a matter of casual attention
The Constitution has vested the control of 208 the subordinate judiciary under Article 235 in the High Court as a whole and not its Chief Justice alone
Every Judge should therefore take adequate interest in the institution which is placed under the control of the High Court
The administrative control of the subordinate courts of the State vests not in the Chief Justice alone but in the Court over which the Chief Justice presides
231 A C 8
There is a marked distinction between the nature of work which executive officers and judicial officers are called upon to discharge
The work of the judicial officers is usually sedantry while that of the executive officer involves a lot of physical movement
This is particularly so in the lower cadres of both the services
In view of this feature physical fitness is more important for an executive officer than in case of a judicial officer while in case of judicial officers there is thus necessarily more of mental activity than physical
Experience is an indispensable factor and subject to the basic physical fitness with grow ing age experience grows
217 D E 9
Today a judicial officer always looks at life in a comparative way with administrative officers of his age
Professional income at the Bar has tremendously swelled up
Very often counsel s fee per day equals to the salary of a judicial officer for a full month or even a longer period
This great disparity affects peace and equilibrium in the judicial operation
227 D 10
It is absolutely necessary that the Judge enjoys freedom from personal worries
A reasonable salary appropri ate allowances and manageable living conditions are there fore required to be provided
226 E 11
An All India Judical Service should be set up and the Union of India should take appropriate steps in this regard
232 C 12
Steps should be taken to bring about uniformity in designation of officers both in civil and the criminal side by 3131993
232 C 13
Retirement age of judicial officers be raised to 60 years and appropriate steps be taken by 31121992
232 C 14
As and when the Pay CommissionsCommittees are set up in the States and Union Territories the question of appropriate pay scales of judicial officers be specifically referred and considered
232 D 209 15
A working library at the residence of every judicial officer has to be provided by 3061992
Provision for sumptuary allowance has to be made
232 D 16
Residential accommodation to every judicial officer has to be provided and until State accommodation is avail able
Government should provide requisitioned accommodation for them by 31121992
In providing residential accommoda tion availability of an office room should be kept in view
232 E 17
Every District Judge and Chief Judicial Magistrate should have a State vehicle Judicial officers in sets of 5 should have a pool vehicle and others would be entitled to suitable loans to acquire two wheeler automobiles within different time limits
232 F 18
In service Insititute should be set up within one year at the Central and State or Union Territory level
232 G The Law Commission of India 14th Report 1958 Judges by Professor Pannick Law Commission of India 1 Ith Report referred to
Moti Ram Deka etc
vs The General Manager North East Frontier Railway Maligaon Pandu etc
   Secretary Government of Madras Home Department and Anoth er vs Zenith Lamps and Electrical Ltd   Devi Prasad Sharma and Others vs The King Emperor 70 IA 216 Baradakanta Mishra The Registrar of Orissa High Court and Another   referred to