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TMI Blog1985 (3) TMI 308X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ators for all-India tourist permit. The last date for receiving the applications was July 13, 1974 In response to the advertisement number of intending operators including the appellants in these appeals submitted their applications for grant of all-India tourist permit to the concerned authority within time. The State Transport Authority processed these applications and disposed of the applications at its meeting held on Feb. 2, 1975. The appellants herein were granted all-India tourist permits for omnibus with passenger capacity not exceeding 29. Some of She applicants who failed to obtain a permit filed three appeals being M. V. Appeals Nos. 15, 16 and 17, all of 1975 to the State Transport Appellate Tribunal ('Appellate Tribunal' for short) under Sec. 64 (2) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1939 (Act for short). The Appellate Tribunal dismissed all the appeals and confirmed the order made by the State Transport Authority granting all-India tourist permits to the appellants. The writ petitions came to be filed by three unsuccessful applicants for permit questioning the correctness of the order granting the permit and dismissal of their appeals division Bench of the High Court ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... c service vehicle, namely, permit for the use of motor cab or a permit to use an omnibus for contract carriage or a permit to use the same as a stage carriage. Sec. 46 provides for application to be made for stage carriage permit. The holder of a stage carriage permit can use the vehicle to carry 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. The second kind of permit in respect of a public service vehicle is the one contemplated by Sec. 49 and styled as 'contract carriage permit.' A vehicle in respect of which there is a contract carriage permit can be used for carrying 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 of sum-(i) on a time basis whether or not with reference to any route or distance, or (ii) from one point to another, and in either case without stopping to pick up, or set down along the line of route passengers not included in the contract, and includes a motor cab notwithstanding that the passengers may pay separate fares. By the Amending Act 56 of 1969, a concept of a tour ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ged therein which enables the holder of such a permit to ply vehicle as a tourist vehicle in the whole of India has to make an application to the State Transport Authority constituted for the State under Sec. 44. The underlying object for creating this new class of permit was to promote tourism. If a tourist vehicle is hired by a tourist party for moving from State to State, the vehicle cannot be taken to another State from the place of commencement of journey unless a valid contract carriage permit of that State is obtained or the existing permit is counter-signed. This would impede tourism causing inconvenience to the tourists. To remove this barrier, Parliament introduced sub-sec. (7) in Sec. 63 envisaging a new kind of permit to be granted by the State Transport Authority of the State within the prescribed quota which would enable the, holder of the permit to ply the tourist vehicle in the whole or any part of India. The impediment in the free flow of tourist traffic was sought to be suitably removed by this provision. Sub-sec. (7) of Sec. 63 further provided that an application for such a permit has to be made to the State Transport Authority from whom the permit is sought ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... implication suggests that an applicant for an all-India tourist permit must of necessity or as a pre-requisite have a contract carriage permit which alone can be endorsed for the purpose of all-India operation. Sub-s.(7) of Sec. 63, if read thus would render nugatory the affirmative provision that on a proper application being made and legally processed, the State Transport Authority can grant an all-India tourist permit. If sub-s. (7) of Sec. 63 is read as interpreted by the High Court, one will have to redraft the section to read that the holder of a contract carriage permit may apply for an all- India tourist permit. There is no warrant for reading the section like this. Undoubtedly, an application for an all- India tourist permit has to be made under Sec. 49 which prescribes procedure for obtaining a contract carriage permit This ought to be so because in substance an all-India tourist permit is none-the-less a contract carriage permit but with a much wider area of operation. That however, does not permit an inference that before obtaining an all India tourist permit, the intending operator must obtain a contract carriage permit from the Regional Transport Authority and then g ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... n be endorsed subsequently as an all-India tourist permit. These rules were enacted in the year 1967 and were put into operation on 19/20 June, 1967. They were enacted in exercise of the power conferred by Sec. 68 of the Motor Vehicles Act. Sec. 68 confers powers on a State Government to make rules for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of Chapter IV. These rules were made at a time when the only way to enlarge the area of operation in respect of a permit was endorsement by various authorities on the original permit granted by a Transport Authority. All-India tourist permit was not conceptualised by the time 1967 Rules were framed. All-India tourist permit as contemplated by sub-s. (7) of Sec. 63 was not on the statute book at the time when these rules were enacted. Therefore, the rules at the relevant time caters to a situation when the area of operation specified in a contract carriage permit could be enlarged by endorsement by authority other than The grantor. The concept of all-India tourist permit without any necessity of any endorsement by any authority save and except the grantor was then not known to law. In order to avoid endorsements by various authorities so ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ng that some of the columns were left blank. For a . fresh applicant who had no existing contract carriage permit, the blanks could not have been filled in. This is another unfortunate error in which the High Court fell while granting a writ of certiorari quashing the order under which permits were granted to the applicants. Having thus examined the various aspects which appealed to the High Court in reversing the decision granting all- India tourist permit to the appellants, we are of the opinion that none of them can be sustained. Firstly, it was not necessary that the applicants for an all-India tourist permit must have a pre-existing contract carriage permit which alone could be endorsed so as to convert it into an all-India tourist permit. Secondly, the applications of the appellants for all relevant information were complete and the blanks were irrelevant and lastly sub-rules (2), (3) and (4) of Rule 3 had absolutely no application to the proceedings of the State Transport Authority held for consideration of applications for all-India tourist permit and granting them to the appellants. These were the grounds on which the High Court reversed the decision of the State Transp ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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