TMI Blog1998 (8) TMI 637X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... collected according to stages. Explanation:- When a passenger gets into or gets down from a stage carriage at a place lying in between two stages, he shall pay the fare from the stage preceding the place where he gets into the bus to the stage succeeding the place where he gets down. 2. The Regional Transport Authority shall, subject to the following restrictions, determine which are town service routes. (i) at least one terminus of every town service shall lie within the limits of a municipality or any built up place notified in the Andhra Pradesh Gazette as 'town' for this purpose by the Regional Transport Authority concerned, with the prior concurrence of the State Transport Authority. (ii) No route of town service shall extend more than 8 kilometres beyond the limits of the Municipality or town from which it starts, provided that this restriction shall not apply to any town service routes, which were in existence on the date of coming of these rules into force or in respect of those routes for which specific permission of the Transport Commissioner is obtained. (iii) No route shall be determined as both town and muffasal service routes . 2. The Governm ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... etitions filed by the appellant against the grants in the other cases were dismissed. 5. Though it is not necessary to set out the facts in each case as they are similar, it will be very useful to reproduce the tabular statement furnished by learned counsel for the appellant containing the particulars of the route, total distance, extension beyond municipal limits and the extent of overlapping in each case. The S.L.P. in Serial No. 15, that is S.L.P. 1623/98, has been dismissed as 'not pressed' by a separate order 6. On the above facts, the following questions are debated:- (i) Whether the permission of the Transport Commissioner contemplated in Rule 258 (2) (ii) of the Rules should be obtained before an application for permit is filed for a route covered by a scheme notified under the Act? (ii) Whether the Transport Commissioner's power to extend a town service route more than 8 Kms. beyond the limits of the Municipality or town is unlimited? 7. Rule 258 uses the expression town service . Sub-rule (1) enjoins the Regional Transport Authority to fix stages on all bus routes except town service after consultation with such other authority as it ma ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... V or any other law for the time being in force. Section 99 deals with preparation and publication of proposals regarding road transport service of a State Transport Undertaking. Section 100 deals with publication of proposal and a notification of the scheme after consideration of the objections to the proposal. Section 104 as stated earlier, prohibits the grant of any permit except in accordance with the provisions of the scheme. Hence for the purpose of Rule 258(2), if there is a scheme in force with reference to the concerned route, the authority has to adhere to the terms of the scheme. If there is an absolute bar in the scheme against the grant of any permit for the notified route or any portion of the route nothing further could be done. On the other hand if there is any exception provided in the scheme the applicant for a permit has to satisfy the authority concerned that he would fall within the scope of the exception. When the scheme provides an exception for the holder of stage carriage permit in respect of town service any applicant for permit claiming the benefit thereof has to necessarily satisfy the Regional Transport Authority that the route for which the permit is s ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... no direct ruling on the point, learned counsel for the appellant has drawn our attention to two passages in de Smith's Judicial Review of Administrative Action, Fourth Edition, pages 283 and 285 which read as follows: Page 283:- An authority may have a discretion whether to exercise a power, and a discretion in the manner of exercising it. But discretionary powers are frequently coupled with duties. A Minister may be empowered to confirm or refuse to confirm a compulsory purchase order. In making his decision he is entitled to exercise a very wide discretion, but he is under a legal duty to determine the application for confirmation one way or the other. Again, to the extent that a discretionary power is not absolute, the repository of a discretion is under a legal duty to observe certain requirements that condition the manner in which its discretion may be exercised. Page 285:- The relevant principles formulated by the courts may be broadly summarised as follows. The authority in which a discretion is vested can be compelled to exercise that discretion, but not to exercise it in any particular manner. In general, a discretion must be exercised only by the author ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... herwise, the town service will cease to be town service and would get transformed into a moffussil route and the private operator would run his stage carriage along the line of the notified route which is impermissible. When so read, though under Rule 282(2)(ii) town service extends upto 8 Kms from the municipal limits that does not give any right to a holder of a town service stage carriage permit to run his vehicle beyond 8 Kms on the notified route nor does it extend to 8 Kms overlapping on the notified route from municipal limits. 16. Learned counsel for the appellant has pointed out rightly that in these cases the Transport Commissioner has granted permission for extension of the town service route by not less than 12 kilometres excepting in one or two cases. The tabular statement reproduced by us earlier shows that the extension is not only much more than 8 kilometres beyond the municipal limits but also the overlapping on the notified route is more than 12 kilometres excepting in one or two cases. Thus it is evident that the Transport Commissioner has not applied his mind to the relevant factors in these cases. 17. Learned counsel for the respondents has submitted tha ..... 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