Page 83 - The Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

SECTION 81 THE MOTOR VEHICLES ACT, 1988 69

specified by it in this behalf, replace any permit granted by it before the said date by a
fresh permit conforming to the provisions of section 72 or section 74 or section 76 or
section 79, as the case may be, and the fresh permit shall be valid for the same route or
routes or the same area for which the replaced permit was valid :
PROVIDED that no condition other than a condition which was already attached
to the replaced permit or which could have been attached thereto under the law in force
when that permit was granted shall be attached to the fresh permit except with the
consent in writing of the holder of the permit.
(5) Notwithstanding anything contained in section 81, a permit issued under the
provisions of sub-section (4) shall be effective without renewal for the remainder of the
period during which the replaced permit would have been so effective.
COMMENTS

No limit for the grant of permit on a route can be fixed by the Regional Transport Authority
because the Act as it stands today does not contain any such provision. A perusal of s. 71 and s.
72 read with s. 80 clearly shows that the object of the Legislature in enacting these provisions and
intentionally omitting the provisions like sub-s. (3) of s. 43 which provides for the fixation of the
scope and to limit the number of stage carriage permits on the routes is to make it easier for the
eligible applicants to secure the permit on the designated routes.—Shiv Raj v. State of Rajasthan
AIR 1992 Raj 99.
If the provisions of s. 80(2) cause even a grain of damage to the public interest it would be
open for the High Court to strike it down as being ultra vires the authority exercising such power.
But if the provision so made results in preservation of the public interest not to speak of its promotion,
then it cannot be said that the Legislature has invested the authorities with an uncanalised and
arbitrary power which needs a curtailment by the High Court.—G.V. Rama Krishna Rao v.
Government of India AIR 1992 AP 67
When the State has chosen not to impose any restriction under art. 19(6) of the Constitution
of India in respect of motor transport business and has left the citizens to enjoy their right under
art. 19(1)(g), there can be no cause for complaint by the petitioners.—Methlesh Garg v. UOI AIR
1992 SC 443
R.T.A. has to publish the application and the substance thereof in the manner prescribed by
the rules. Not the entire application but the substance alone is needed to be published so as to
enable the interested parties to file their representations in connection with details given in those
applications.—M. Bhaskaran Nair v. Regional Transport Authority AIR 1990 Ker 142
81. Duration and renewal of permits

(1) A permit other than a temporary permit issued under section 87 or a special
1
permit issued under sub-section (8) of section 88 shall be effective [from the date of
issuance or renewal thereof] for a period of five years :
PROVIDED that where the permit is countersigned under sub-section (1) of section
88, such countersignature shall remain effective without renewal for such period so as
to synchronise with the validity of the primary permit.
(2) A permit may be renewed on an application made not less than fifteen days
before that date of its expiry.
(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (2), the Regional Transport
Authority or the State Transport Authority, as the case may be, entertain an application

1 Substituted for “without renewal” by Act 54 of 1994, w.e.f. 14-11-1994.