P (PLP)

AKHTER HUSSAIN, F. C.‑This is an appeal against an order dated 30th September 1950,, passed by the Regional Transport Authority, Lahore, whereby the Authority decided that all the contract carriage permit‑holders should be directed to fit any of the following types of meters in their taxi cabs within a period of three months i.e. by the 31st December 1950 :‑ (1) Argo. (2) Tacripopp.

2. The grounds on which this decision of the Authority has been assailed by the appellants can be boiled down to this :‑ (a) that they were afforded no opportunity of hearing before the Authority arrived at the decision appealed against ; (b) that the fixation of taxi meters mentioned above will be rather an un‑economic proposition and a financial burden on them ; (c) that the Authority seem to have passed the order under appeal after permitting its mind to be influenced by some letter received from the Secretary, Provincial Transport Authority and that as the Regional Transport Authority was a judicial body it should not have allowed itself to be influenced by the contents of that letter.

3. As regards (a) the Secretary, Regional Transport Authority, Lahore, has explained that in the meeting of the Authority held on 25th April 1950, the representatives, of the taxi owners were heard and that the decision to have these taxi meters fixed to the taxi cabs was arrived at in that meeting. It therefore does not lie in the mouth of the appellants to say that they were not heard in the matter. It is however significant that the order appealed against makes no mention of the decision of the Authority of 25th April 1950, and therefore the appellants bad obviously a fresh cause of action on 30th September 1950.

4. As regards (b) it has been urged by the counsel for the appellants that the business of the appellants is not in a flourishing condition and that the proposed fixation of the taxi‑meters will cause a further financial strain on their resources. Moreover the taxi‑meters proposed to be fixed do not show the existing rates of fares charged and that these fares will have to be reduced before the meters could be adjusted to those fares. This reduction in fares will naturally affect adversely the interests of the appellants. It has further been urged that the taxi‑meters are not available in the market. These grievances appear to be genuine in as much as if the Authority considered the fixation of these meters feasible, it should have at the same time considered all these important aspects of, the case especially as to how these meters could be adjusted to the existing fares and whether the fixation of these meters, would necessitate any revision in the existing rates of fares. The instalment of meters without the necessary adjustment of fares simultaneously with them would simply be putting the cart before the horse.

5. As regards (c) there appears to be nothing objectionable in the resolution of the Authority so long as the instructions alleged to have been issued by the Provincial Transport Authority are in accordance with the provisions of subsection (3) of section 44 and section 51 (d) of the Motor Vehicles Act read with rule 4'68 of the Punjab Motor Vehicles Rules. The instructions issued by the Provincial Transport Authority have nowhere been reproduced in the resolution passed by the Regional Transport Authority hence it cannot be said if those instructions are consistent with law as mentioned above. It is equally not known if the nomenclature used in the resolution such as 'Argo ' and `Tacripopp' represents the pattern or the manufacturer of the meters. In case the latter the resolution is obviously not con sistent with rule 4'68 of the Rules ibid. At any rate the wording of the decision appealed against should have been clearer than it is at present.

6. For the foregoing reasons the case is remanded back to the Regional Transport Authority, Lahore, for a fresh adjudication after making necessary inquiries on the points raised above as well as after hearing .the parties interested in the matter. The interim order passed by me on 29th March 1951, is hereby vacated. The appeal is accepted and the case remanded. Announced. A. H Case remanded.