Case: S. Abdul Khader Saheb Vs. The Mysore Revenue Appellate Tribunal,Bangalore &amp; Ors

2. The facts briefly are that in August 1964, the States of Mysore and Andhra Pradesh entered into a reciprocal agreement to introduce stage carriage service on the inter-State route from Bellary in Mysore State to Manthralaya in Andhra Pradesh via Chintakunta. In August 1965, the Regional Transport Authority, Bellary, called for applications for the grant of stage carriage permit for the aforesaid route. The appellant, respondents 7 and 8 and several others filed applications for the grant of a permit. After complying with the necessary formalities required under the relevant provisions of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939, hereinafter called the Act, the Regional Transport Authority granted permits to the appellant and respondent No. 7 for one trip each day at its meeting held in August, 1966. By the time the Regional Transport Authority had issued the notification calling for the applications the scheme had been approved by the Government of Mysore under Section 68-D of the Act. Under this scheme which was popularly known as the Bellary Scheme and which came into force with effect from May 7, 1964 a portion of the road in question, viz., from Bellary to the district border (Chintakunta border) operators other than those mentioned in the scheme were totally excluded and only State Transport Undertaking could operate the services. The Mysore State Road Transport Corporation which was the State Transport Undertaking in Mysore, hereinafter called the State Corporation, B. Subba Rao, the appellant and certain other persons filed appeals before the Mysore State Transport Appellate Tribunal. After hearing the appeals the Tribunal remitted the case to the Regional Transport Authority for a fresh disposal. Aggrieved by the remand order the appellant, the State Corporation and others filed appeals before the Mysore Revenue Appellate Tribunal. This Tribunal allowed the appeal of the appellant in its entirety and granted him a permit for the inter-State route with the condition that no passenger was to be picked up or set down on the portion of the road overlapping the notified route of the Bellary Scheme. The appeals of others were dismissed. Two writ petitions were filed before the High Court, one by the State Corporation and the other by B. Subba Rao challenging the order of the Revenue Appellate Tribunal3. The High Court disposed of the writ petition on the groundWhen once on a route or a portion of the route there has been total exclusion of operation of stage carriage services by operators other than the State Transport Undertaking by virtue of a clause in an approved Scheme, the authorities granting permit under Chapter IV of the Motor Vehicles Act, should refrain from granting a permit contrary to the SchemeThe High Court did not agree with the view of the Revenue Appellate Tribunal that even under a Scheme of total exclusion from Bellary to Chintakunta border a permit could be issued in respect of the overlapping portion of the inter-State route by making that permit ineffective. The High Court consequently directed a remand to the State Transport Authority to reconsider the matter and dispose of the same in accordance with law.

Reasoning:
8. Sub-section (3) of Section 68-D of the Act has also been relied upon by Mr. Setalvad. According to that provision the scheme as approved or modified shall be published in the official gazette and the same shall thereupon become final. The proviso, however, says that no such scheme which relates to any inter-State route shall be deemed to be an approved scheme unless it has been published in the official gazette with the previous approval of the Central Government. No scheme in the present case has been approved under the proviso relating to the inter-State route in question. We are unable to see how the proviso to Section 68-D (3) can be of any avail to the appellant. The aforesaid provision becomes material only when a scheme covers an inter-State route. The Bellary scheme provides for nationalisation of an Intra-State route and not an inter-State route and the aforesaid provision can have no applicability9. Although respondent No. 7 has not appealed, counsel appearing for him has called attention to the observations of this Court in B. H. Aswathanarayan Singh v. State of Mysore, (1966) 1 SCR 87  = (AIR 1965 SC 1848 ) that an inter-State route is one in which one of the termini is in one State and the other in another State. Where both the termini are in one State the question of an inter-State route does not arise. If part of the scheme covers routes which continue beyond the State and connect various points in the State of Mysore with those in the other State it does not make the scheme one connected with inter-State route. It is sought to be argued from his that even if Bellary-Chintakunta route which is shown as item 34 in the Bellary Scheme has been nationalised it does not make the scheme one connected with inter-State route. Stress has been laid on the example given that the Grand Trunk Road runs from Calcutta to Amritsar and passes through many States and any portion of it within a State can be a route for purposes of stage carriage but that would not make such a route a part of an inter-State route even though it lies on the road which runs through many States10. The above argument can possibly have no validity so far as the present case is concerned. The scheme which was under consideration in the decision relied upon was in respect of an intra-State route. It appears to have been argued that as the scheme was concerned with an inter-State route the approval of the Central Government was necessary as required under the proviso to Section 68-D (3) of the Act. This Court held that since the termini were within the State of Mysore the scheme did not deal with an inter-State route at all and no question arose of the applicability of the proviso to Section 68-D (3).In the present case there is no scheme of nationalisation relating to the inter-State route from Bellary to Manthralaya. The Bellary Scheme is confined to the intra-State routes, one of those being the Bellary-Chintakunta route. It may be that that portion overlaps the inter-State route from Bellary to Manthralaya but so long as it is an intra-State route it could be nationalised by the State of Mysore under the provisions of Section 68-D. That having been done the decision in Thippeswamys case, AIR 1972 SC 1674  will appositely apply.