2002 (1) TMI 1263
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....We accordingly notice the facts which have given rise to Civil Appeal No. 1341/1990. As far back in the year 1966, the then Mysore State Transport Undertaking (hereinafter referred to as the Undertaking) framed a scheme under Section 68-C of the Repealed Act known as Kolar Pocket Scheme (in short 'the Scheme'), for exclusive plying of the vehicle by the Undertaking on the routes falling within the Scheme. The erstwhile Mysore government, after having considered the Scheme as proposed, and the representations filed against the said Scheme, approved the Scheme under Section 68D of the Repealed Act and the said approved Scheme was published in Government Gazette dated January 10, 1968. The Scheme provided that the State Transport Undertaking shall operate services on all the routes to the complete exclusion of other private operators except that the existing permit holders on the inter-State route may continue to operate on such inter-State route, subject to conditions that their permits shall be rendered ineffective for the overlapping portions of the notified routes and that the existing operators whose permits overlap the notified portions between Bagepalli to Chelur and Pathpatya....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....her small portion or portions falling within the limits of a town or village on a nationalised route, are to be treated as a route overlapping or intersection" was referred to a Full Bench of the High Court for its opinion. The Full Bench, by its opinion dated 21.7.88, answered the question as follows: A small portion/portions falling within the limits of a town or a village on a nationalised route (notified route) are to be treated as only an intersection of the nationalised route and not as overlapping and therefore, it is permissible to grant permit on the route. The Full Bench accordingly remitted its opinion to the Division Bench of the High Court. The Division Bench, in view of the opinion given by the Full Bench allowed the writ appeal and set aside the judgment of the Learned Single Judge and remanded the matter to the Appellate Tribunal for considering the matter afresh in the light of the opinion given by the Full Bench. The Appellate Tribunal, following the Full Bench decision dismissed the appeal preferred by the appellant. Consequently, the appellant has filed the appeal by way of Special Leave Petition. It is in this way these matters have come up before us. Before....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....under sub-section (3) of Section 68D in respect of any notified area or notified route, the State Transport Authority or the Regional Transport Authority, as the case may, shall not grant any permit except in accordance with the provisions of the scheme. The consequences of an approved scheme under Chapter IVA was that if the scheme was for total exclusion, no person other than the State Transport Undertaking can operate on the notified route or area except as provided in the scheme itself. In other words, after the approved scheme under Chapter IVA came into force, which is for total exclusion, no permit can be granted to a private operator to operate his vehicle on any part or portion on a notified area or route unless permitted by the terms of the scheme itself. It is not disputed that the present Scheme is for total exclusion of private operators on the notified route or portion thereof. In H.C. Narayanappa vs. State of Mysore - 1960 (3) SCR 742, a Constitution Bench of this Court held that a scheme framed and approved under Chapter IVA of the Repealed Act is a law within the meaning of Article 13 and 19(6) of the Constitution. It excludes the private operators from notified r....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....t, particularly Chapter IVA, where the intention is to exclude private operators completely from running over certain sectors or routes vested in State Transport Undertakings. In our opinion, therefore, the appellants were rightly held to be disentitled to run over those portions of their routes which were notified as part of the scheme. Those portions cannot be said to be different routes, but must be regarded as portions of the routes of the private operators, from which the private operators stood excluded under Section 68F (2) A(c) (iii) of the Act." In S. Abdul Khader Saheb vs. Mysore Revenue Appellate Tribunal 1973 (1) SCC 357, it was held by this Court that once a scheme is for total exclusion of operation of stage carriage services by operators other than the State Transport Undertaking, the authorities cannot grant permit under Chapter IV of the Motor Vehicle Act on any portion of a notified route. In Mysore State Road Transport Corporation vs. Mysore State Transport Appellate Tribunal 1975 (1) SCR 615, it was held that it is not permissible to grant permit on a portion of a notified route which has an effect to ply a stage carriage on the same line of the notified route ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....alls for our consideration. Learned counsel for the appellant, S/Shri G.L. Sanghi, Senior Advocate and K.R. Nagaraja, Advocate contended that in view of the terms of the Scheme, grant of the permit for purpose of plying on the same line of the portion of the notified route which falls within the limits of town or village is overlapping and not an intersection. Learned counsel for the respondent, Sh. N.D.B. Raju, Advocate supported the reasoning given in the judgment rendered by the Full Bench of Karnataka High Court. Learned counsel for the parties heavily relied upon dictionary meaning of the expression 'intersection'. In Webster's Dictionary Vol-I, the word 'intersection' means:- as the act of inter-secting the point at which lines cut across each other (or the line at which planes do so), a place where two roads cross each other inter-sectional. In Black's Dictionary of Law, Fifth Edn., the word 'intersection' means:- as applied to a street or highway means the space occupied by two streets at the point where they cross each other. Space common to both streets or highways, formed by continuing the curb lines. In Chambers English Dictionary, ' intersection' means to cut acros....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ficial gazette, no permit can be granted to private operators other than the State Transport Undertaking on a notified route or portion thereof except in the terms of the scheme. This Court in Adarsh Travels Service and another vs. State of U.P.and others (supra) while dealing with Civil Appeal Nos.164-166 of 1982 even after finding that there was very insignificant portion of the route on which the appellants held stage carriage permits, was included in a notified route yet this Court rejected the contention of the appellant. Similarly in C.P.C. Motor Service vs. State of Mysore (supra), the contention of the private operators who held permits on an inter State route which overlapped the Mysore District, that their permits should not be cancelled merely because part of the route is within the Mysore District was rejected. The aforesaid view of this Court is in consonance with the object and scheme under Chapter IVA of the Repealed Act. We are, therefore, of the view that the expression 'intersection' has to be understood in the light of the pronouncement of law by this Court in number of its decisions. The expression 'intersection' has neither been employed in the Repealed Act n....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....ot amount to traversing or overlapping the notified route because of the prohibition contain in a scheme applies to a whole or part of the route on the highway on the same line of the route. It was further clarified that an intersection cuts across the notified route and does not permit traversing the same line of travel on a notified route. The last line of the passage extracted from decision in Mysore State Transport Corpn. (supra) is very relevant and explains what this Court meant by the expression 'intersection'. The meaning assigned to it is that an intersection is not traversing the same line of travel but it cuts across. In other words if the vehicle is to ply on the same line of travel on a notified route it is an overlapping and if a non-notified route cuts across a notified route for its onward journey it is an intersection. The expression 'intersection' has been employed by this Court only to provide facility to a private operator operating on a non-notified route to continue an onward journey if it cuts across a notified route. It appears that this exception was carried out only to avoid hardships to the travelling public, otherwise a scheme which is for total exclusi....