Law: Motor Vehicles Act, 1939

Section:

 S. 64-Refusal to vary terms of permit-No. appeal competent.   A right of appeal is expressly conferred by a statute and its scope strictly restricted to the limits prescribed by it the terms of the statute cannot be expanded or curtailed in the discretion of the appellate authority, and to infer that a "refusal to grant a permit" includes "refusal to vary the terms of the permit" would be an undue extension of the terms of clause (a). If this interpretation were allowed, the effect would be that the mandatory provisions of section 57, laying down an elaborate procedure for granting permits, would be circumvented and defeated. Clause (b) of section 64 provides an appeal against variation of the original terms of a permit as a safeguard against unwarranted interference to the prejudice of the permit-holder; but nothing similar in the nature of a right can be claimed by a permit-holder whose prayer to vary the terms of his permit to his benefit is refused. Nor can the permit holder claim the need for any safeguard. On the other hand, when a permit-holder accepts a permit subject to certain conditions, the R. T. A. has a right to insist that those conditions are observed during the currency of the permit. Conversely, if it refuses to vary the terms of the permit, it commits no infringement and no question of appeal arises.   ORDER   No. 1 (R. O. A. M. No. 21) is an appeal against R. T. A's order dated 22-10-1958, refusing to vary the appellant's existing route; No. 2 (R. O. A. M. No. 23) is a cross-appeal by the Sargodha-Bhera Bus Service which would claim alternative relief as an aggrieved party, if the Afghan Bus Service's prayer for variation of the route is granted.   The Afghan Bus Service is a permit-holder on a route com prising 26 miles from Sargodha to Marulianwala via Choki Bhagat, Matela and Chak No. 67. A small part of this route between Chak No. 67 and Marulianwala is said to be unmotorable on account of water logging. The Afghan Bus Service, therefore, applied to R. T. A. for an extension of its route by about 21 miles beyond Matela and on Marulianwala via Kot Moman and Laliani. The major…