# Sri Rama Vilas Service Ltd v. The Road Traffic Board, Madras

- **Citation:** [1965] 3 S.C.R. 786
- **Court:** Supreme Court of India
- **Decided:** 1965-04-15
- **Case number:** Civil Appeal No. 243 of 1965
- **Source:** https://unisonlegal.in/judgment/supreme-court-of-india/sri-rama-vilas-service-ltd-v-the-road-traffic-board-madras-3459
- **Pages:** 7

## Headnote

THE MADHYA PRADESH STATE ROAD TRANSPORT
CORPORATION
v.
A
mE REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUmORITY, RAIPUR
B
April 15, 1965
IP. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, c. J., K. N. WANCHOO, M. HIDAYATULLAH
AND V. RAMASWAMI, JJ.]
Motor Vehicles Act, (4 of 1939), s. 62--Scope of.
c
In February, 1963, the first respondent, Regional Transport Authority, granted a permit to the third respondent for running a town
bus service in Raipur, but as the latter was unable to pUt the service into operation, the permit was revoked in September,· 1964.
Thereafter, the first respondent granted a temporary permit to the
appellant for a period of two months and in November, 1964 pending D
the grant of a permit for permanent regular operations, granted a
:;econd temporary permit to the appellant for four months.
The third respondent thereupon filed a petition in the High
Court for a writ of certiorari to quash the order of the first respondent
granting a temporary permit to the appellant on the ground, inter
atia, that such grant was in violation of s. 62 of the Motor Vehicles E
Act. The High Court allowed the petition, being of the view that a
temporary permit could not be granted for any route when there
was a permanent need for providing transport facilities on that route
and it had been decided to invite applications for that purpose. In
the appeal before this Court, it was a1so contended that the provision
in s. 62 that a temporary permit could be granted for a period not "in
any case" to exceed four months meant that under no circumstances
could a temporary permit be granted on any route for more than a I'
total period of four months.
On the other hand, it was the appellant's contention that in the
-circumstances of the case~ there was a "particular temporary need"
within the meaning of s. 62(c) and the High Court was in error in
taking the view that whenever there was a permanent need, there
could be no temporary need.
•· ·
G
HELD: (i) The Regional Transport Authority was right as a
matter of law in granting a temporary permit to the appellant under
s. 62(c) of the Act in the circumstances of the case. [WOC]
After the regular permit granted to the third respondent was
<:ancelled, in view of a . shortage of transport vehicles on the route
the Regional Transport Authority thought it fit to provide for this H
temporary need until permanent regular operations could be introduced in accordance with the procedure prescribed in s. 57. There
was no reason why the clause "to meet a particular temporary need"
should be given any special or restricted meaning. There is no antithesis between a particular temporary need and a permanent need
and it is manifest that these two kinds of need may co-exist on a
particular ro11te. [789 G-HJ
786
. '
r
'
A
B
'c
D
.E
M.P. TRANSPORT CORP. v. R"'.A. (Ramaswami, J.)
787
<ii) The words "in any case" in s. 62 do not· mean "in any circumstance". The section means that at any one time the Transport
Authority is not permitted to issue to any person a temporary permit for a period exceeding 4 months; but if the temporary need per·
sists then, except where an abuse of the power is shown, it would
be permissible to grant a second temporary per.nm· to .meet the temporacy need.
[790 D-F)
·
Jairam Dass v. Regional Transport Authority, I.L.R. 1956 Rajasthan 1053; Chandi Praood Mahajan v. The Regional Transport Authority, Gauhati, I.L.R., 1952, Assam 9, approved.
Sri Rama Vilas Service Ltd. v. The Road Traffic Board, Madras,
A.I.R., 1948 Madras 400, Balagangadharan v. Regional Transport
Board, Quilon, A.LR., 1958, Kerala 144, Shah Transport Co., Chhindwara v. The State of Madhya Pradesh, A.LR., 1952 Nagpur 363, Mallasattawa v. The Chairman, Regiona1l Transport Authority, Bangalore, A.LR., 1959, Mysore 114, disapproved.

## Text

THE MADHYA PRADESH STATE ROAD TRANSPORT
CORPORATION
v.
A
mE REGIONAL TRANSPORT AUmORITY, RAIPUR
B
April 15, 1965
IP. B. GAJENDRAGADKAR, c. J., K. N. WANCHOO, M. HIDAYATULLAH
AND V. RAMASWAMI, JJ.]
Motor Vehicles Act, (4 of 1939), s. 62--Scope of.
c
In February, 1963, the first respondent, Regional Transport Authority, granted a permit to the third respondent for running a town
bus service in Raipur, but as the latter was unable to pUt the service into operation, the permit was revoked in September,· 1964.
Thereafter, the first respondent granted a temporary permit to the
appellant for a period of two months and in November, 1964 pending D
the grant of a permit for permanent regular operations, granted a
:;econd temporary permit to the appellant for four months.
The third respondent thereupon filed a petition in the High
Court for a writ of certiorari to quash the order of the first respondent
granting a temporary permit to the appellant on the ground, inter
atia, that such grant was in violation of s. 62 of the Motor Vehicles E
Act. The High Court allowed the petition, being of the view that a
temporary permit could not be granted for any route when there
was a permanent need for providing transport facilities on that route
and it had been decided to invite applications for that purpose. In
the appeal before this Court, it was a1so contended that the provision
in s. 62 that a temporary permit could be granted for a period not "in
any case" to exceed four months meant that under no circumstances
could a temporary permit be granted on any route for more than a I'
total period of four months.
On the other hand, it was the appellant's contention that in the
-circumstances of the case~ there was a "particular temporary need"
within the meaning of s. 62(c) and the High Court was in error in
taking the view that whenever there was a permanent need, there
could be no temporary need.
•· ·
G
HELD: (i) The Regional Transport Authority was right as a
matter of law in granting a temporary permit to the appellant under
s. 62(c) of the Act in the circumstances of the case. [WOC]
After the regular permit granted to the third respondent was
<:ancelled, in view of a . shortage of transport vehicles on the route
the Regional Transport Authority thought it fit to provide for this H
temporary need until permanent regular operations could be introduced in accordance with the procedure prescribed in s. 57. There
was no reason why the clause "to meet a particular temporary need"
should be given any special or restricted meaning. There is no antithesis between a particular temporary need and a permanent need
and it is manifest that these two kinds of need may co-exist on a
particular ro11te. [789 G-HJ
786
. '
r
'
A
B
'c
D
.E
M.P. TRANSPORT CORP. v. R"'.A. (Ramaswami, J.)
787
<ii) The words "in any case" in s. 62 do not· mean "in any circumstance". The section means that at any one time the Transport
Authority is not permitted to issue to any person a temporary permit for a period exceeding 4 months; but if the temporary need per·
sists then, except where an abuse of the power is shown, it would
be permissible to grant a second temporary per.nm· to .meet the temporacy need.
[790 D-F)
·
Jairam Dass v. Regional Transport Authority, I.L.R. 1956 Rajasthan 1053; Chandi Praood Mahajan v. The Regional Transport Authority, Gauhati, I.L.R., 1952, Assam 9, approved.
Sri Rama Vilas Service Ltd. v. The Road Traffic Board, Madras,
A.I.R., 1948 Madras 400, Balagangadharan v. Regional Transport
Board, Quilon, A.LR., 1958, Kerala 144, Shah Transport Co., Chhindwara v. The State of Madhya Pradesh, A.LR., 1952 Nagpur 363, Mallasattawa v. The Chairman, Regiona1l Transport Authority, Bangalore, A.LR., 1959, Mysore 114, disapproved.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal No. 243 of
1965.
Appeal by special leave from the judgment and order dated
January 13, 1965 of the Madhya Pradesh High Court in Misc.
Petition No. 624 of 1964.
S. V. Gupte, Solicitor-General, and ·1. N. Shroff, for the
appellant.
A. G. Ratnaparkhi, for the respondent No. 3.
The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
Ramaswami, J. This appeal raises an important question
as to the scope and interpretation of s. 62(c) of the Motor Vehicles
F
Act and as to whether the appellant-The Madhya Pradesh State
Road Transport Corporation-was entitle:l, in the circumstances
of the case, to the grant of a temporary perm't for 4 months under
s. 62(c) of the Motor Vehicles Act.
G
H
'
On November 27, 1962 applications were invited for a permit
for running a town bus service in Raipur. On February 20, 1963
it was decided by the Regional Transport Authority to grant a
permit Jor the service to the 3rd resP.ondent-Madhya Pradesh
Transport Co. (Pvt.) Ltd\,. Raipu;r-but the 3rd respondent did
not produce buses ·of the required specifications for operating the
service though several opportunities were given. The order granting the permit to the 3rd respondent was consequently revoked by
the Regional Transport Authority on September 13, 1964. Shortly
thereafter the Regional Transport Authority granted a temporary
permit to the appellant for a period of two months i.e. from September 29, to November 28, 1964 in respect of the aforesaid bu11
service. By the order dated November 25, 1964 the Regional Transport Authority granted, another temporary permit for 4 months
to the .appellant. The order of November 25, 1964 states:
788
BUl'REME
COJJRT
RBl'ORT!l
(1965] 3 S.C.R.
"From the large number of letters from some responsible members of the public received with this application
and the statistics of the traffic catered to by the buses
operated by the Corporation, it is now clear that the public
of Raipur is feeling the .need of the town bus operations.
It Iias been decided by this Authority separately that applications for regular operations on two routes actually
operated temporarily with some extensions a.nd one additional route be invited. However, it has to be accepted
that expectations of the public for these transport facilities
at least on the existing two routes have been aroused
and have created a particular need which has to be met
temporarily till regular operations are introduced.
The
restrictions put by the first proviso to s. 62 of the Motor
Vehicles Act and which has been emphasized in the decision of their Lordships of the M.P. High Court in Shri
Ram Khanna v. Ramgopal Satyanarain '(1961 M.P.L.J.
notes 121) will not operate in sanctioning a further grant
for a period of four months till nearly tl1e end of March
when the academic year may end for a large number of
students availing of this facility.
A iem]:iJtary permit for a period of fout months from
the date of ex¢ry, i.e., 28-11-1964, on the routes and
timings covered by the previous order of grant dated
19-9-1964 is approved. This will stand cancelled if regular operations covering these routes are introduced in the
meantime."
A
B
E
The 3rd respondent thereupon moved the High Court of Madhya
Pradesh on December 19, 1.964 for grant of a writ of certiorari to
F
quash the order of the Regional Transport Authority granting
temporary permits to the appellant for operating the bus servii:e.
The application was allowed by the High Court on· January 13,
1965 and a writ in the nature of certiorari was issued quashing
the order of the Regional Transport Authority dated November 25,
1964 by which a temporary permit was granted to the appellant.
G
The High Court took the view that a temporary permit cannot
be granted for any route when there is a permanent need for providing transport facilities on that route and it has been decided to
invite applications for that purpose. This appeal is brought, by
special leave, by the Madhya Pradesh State Road Transport CorR
~oration against the judgment of the High Court in th<; writ {'etiuon.
Section 62 of the Motor Vehicles Act states:
"62. A Regional Tralllport Authority may without following the procedure laid down in section 57, grant permits, to be effective for a limited period not in any case,
. t
A
B
c
D
E
F
1\1.P. TRANSPORT CORP. v. R.T.A. (Ramaswami, J.)
789
to exceed four months, to authorise the use of a transport
vehicle temporarily-
(a) for the conveyance of passengers on special ~cca
sion such as to and from fairs and religious gatherings,
or
(bl for the purposes of a seasonal business, or
(c) to meet a particular temporary need, or
(d) pending decision on an application for the renewal
of a permit;
and may attach to any such permit any condition it thinks
fit:
Provided that a temporary permit under this section
shall, in no case, be granted in respect of any route or
area specified in an application for the grant of a new
permit under section 46 or section 54 during the pendency
of the application:
Provided further that a temporary permit under this
section shall. in no case, be granted more than once in
respect of any route or area specified in an application
for the renewal of a permit during the pendency of such.
application for renewal."
On behalf of the appellant it was contended, in the first pface,
that there was a particular temporary need for the provision of
transport facilities and the High Court was erroneous in taking the·
view that whenever there was a permanent need there could be
no temporary need, and so temporary permit could not be granted'
under s. 62(c) of the Motor Vehicles Act. In our opinion, the·
argument put forward by the learned Solicitor-General on behalf
of the appellant is well-founded and must be accepted as correct.
It appears from the order of the Regional Transport Authority
G that after the regular permit granted to respondent No. 3 was cancelled there was a shortage of necessary number of transport
vehicles on the route and the Regional Transport Authority thought
it fit to provide for this temporary need until regular operations were
introduced and regular permits were granted after following the
procedure prescribed under s. 57 of the Motor Vehicles Act. Section
H
62(c) of the Motor Vehicles
Act states that the Regionat
Transport Authority
may
grant a
temporary permit
"to
meet a particular temporary' need" and we see no reason why
this clause should be given any special or restricted meaning. There
is no antithesis between a particular temporary need and a perma.
nent need and it is manifest that these two kinds of need may coexist on a particular route. If, therefore, the Regional Transport
Authority considered that, in the circumstances of the case, there
790
SUPREME
COURT
REPORTS '
[l961i] 3 s.c.a.
was a particular temporary need, and granted a temporary permit A
to the api>ellant, the action of the 'Regional Transport Authority
cannot be challenged as legally invalid. Reference may be made,
in this connection, to s. 62(d) which contemplates that temporal)"
permits may be granted to authorise the use of a transport vehicle
temporarily pending decision on an application for the renewal of
a permit. This sub-section, therefore, contemplates that there may B
exist a temporary need for transport facilities on a particular route
even in case of permanent need for such facilities. We are accordingly of opinion that the Regional Transport Authority was right as
a matter of law in granting a temporary permit to the appellant
under s. \62(c) of the Motor Vehicles Act in the circumstances of
C
. this case and the view expressed by the High Court is not correct.
It was also contended on behalf of respondent No. 3 by Mr.
Ratnaparkhi that, in any event, the Regional Transport Authority
ought not to have granted a temporary permit for a total period
exceeding the limit of 4 months. Learned Counsel placed reliance D
on the words "in any case" appearing in s. 62 of the Motor
Vehicles Act which has already been quoted. It was utged that
the words "in any case" mean that under no circumstances a temporary permit can be granted on any route for more than a total
period of 4 months. We are of opinion that the words "in any
case" do not mean "in any circumstance". The section means that E
at any one time the Regional Transport Authority is not permitted
to issue to any person a temporary permit for a period exceeding
4 months, but if the temporary need persists, as, for example, where
the formalities under s. 57 are not completed \\'.ithin a period of
4 months, it would, in our opinion, be permissible for the Regional
Transport Authority to grant a second temporary permit in order
p
to meet the temporary need. We should, of course, make it clear
that the Regional Transport Authordfy cannot abuse its power
and go on granting temporary permits In quick succession and not
take speedy action for completing the procedure under s. 57 of
the Motor Vehicles Act. If upon the facts of any particular case
it appears that the Regional Transport Authority is so abusing its
G
powers its action is liable to be corrected by grant of a writ, but
where such abuse of power is not alleged or shown the mere fact
that .the Regional Transport Authority has granted a temporary
permit for a second time and the total duration of the two periods
is more than 4 months, would not invalidate the second permit.
We accordingly reject the argument of learned Counsel for resH
pondent No. 3 on this point.
With regard to the construction of s. 62(c) of the Motor
Vehicles Act there is divergencil of opinion among the various
High Courts. In Jairam Dass v. Regional Transport Authority(')
(1) I.L.R. rl956JRajasthan 1053,
•
..
M.P. TRANSPORT CORP. v. R.T.A. (Ramaswami, J.)
791
A it was held by the Rajasthan High Court that in a case where
the Regional Transport Authority was of the view that the
existing regular bus service was not sufficient to meet the
traffic and decided to increase the number of regular buses plying
on the route, it had the power to grant a temporary permit till the
necessary formalities for increasmg the regular permits were
B gone through and that thill would amount to a temporary need.
c
D
E
F
G
The same view has been taken by the Assam High Court in C handi
Prasad Mahajan v. The Regional Transport Authority, Gauhati(')
in which it was said that s. 62{c) of the Motor Vehicles
Act is quite general in terms and is not restricted to an existing
particular need but includes a particular temporary need created by
the inability of government or an individual to provide transport
immediately. A contrary view has been expressed by Madras High
Court in Sri Rama Vilas Service Ltd. v. The Road Traffic Board,
Madl'as,(') by Kerala High Court in Balagangadhamn v. Regional
Tmnsport Board, Quilon,(') by Nagpur High Court in Shah Transport Co., Chhindwara v. The State of Madhya Pradesh,(') and by
Mysore High Court in Mallasattappa v. The Chairman, Regional
Transport Authority, Bangalore.(')
For the reasons already expressed, we hold that the view
taken by the Rajasthan High Court in Jairam Dass v. Regional
Transport
Authority(') and the Assam High Court in Chandi
Prasad Mahajan v. The Regional Transport Authority, Gauhati(')
as to the interpretation and the effect of s. 62(c) of the Motor
Vehicles Act is correct.
It was submitted on behalf of respondent No. 3 that the order
of the Regional Transport Authority dated November 25, 1964
had already expired and the Regional Transport Authority had
invited fresh applications for permanent permit by Gazette notification dated December 14, 1964. It was contended by Mr. Ratnaparkhi that any declaration that this Court may make with regard
to the grant of temporary permit dated November 25, 1964 would
be academic. But the Solicitor-General submitted on behalf of the
appellant that it was necessary for this Court to declare the true
position in law, so that in consideration of fresh applications for
a temporary permit in future no mistake may be made. The view
taken by the High Court in the judgment under appeal would bind
the Keg10nal Transport Authorities in the State unless it is set
aside. We agree with the contention of Solicitor-General and conH
sider that, in the circumstances of this case, the question is not
totally academic.
(') I.L.R. [1952] A.,.am 9.
(') A.LR. 1948 Madras 400.
13) A.I.R. 1958 Kera.la 144.
( 4) A.I.R. 1952 Nagpur 353.
( 6) A.1.R. 1959 Mysore 114.
(') I.L.R. [1956] R&jastban 1053.
792
SUPREME
COURT
RJllPORTS
[1965J 3 s.c.R.
We accordingly allow this app.eai and set aside the order A
passed by the High Court dated January 13, 1965 and declare
that the order of the Regional Transport Authority dated November 25, 1964 granting a temporary permit to the appellant is legally
valid. There will be no order with regard to costs of this appeal.
Appeal allowed.
B