Constitution of India, Article-31(2)-"Public purpose" Scope of, whether includes compulsory acquisition for Road Transport Corporation-Part acquisition of undertaking, validity of "Amount" in lieu of acquired property, quantum and principles of evaluation, whether questionable under Art. 31(2).
Karnataka Contract Carriages, (Acquisition) Act, 1976, vis-a-vis Constitution of India, Articles 31(2) and 39(b) and (c) and Schedule List 1 Entry 42- Whether on acquisition the State Govt. can transfer counter signed portions of Inter-State permits to Road Transport Corporation-S.4 (3), "deemed", whether introduces legal fiction-5.6(1), fixation of amount by arbitrator S. 6(1) Schedule, Para 1(1), Explanation-Interpretation of "acquisition cost".
The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation published in the Karnataka Gazette dated May 16, 1974 a draft scheme for nationalisation of contract carriages in the State, under Chapter IV-A of the Motor Vehicles Act. 1939. Objections were preferred by some of the respondents, but the State Government and the Corporation dropped the idea of proceeding with the scheme without concluding the hearing. Later, on January 30, 1976 the State Government promulgated an ordinance followed by a number of notifications by which all contract carriages operating in Karnataka, and the permits specified in the notifications, vested in the State. Under Clause 20(1) of the Ordinance, the State Government transferred them to the Corporation which seized the vehicles and the relative permits. The High Court stayed the seizure of six vehicles operating under Inter-State permits, and quashed some of the notifications, holding that the ordinance did not empower the acquisition of the vehicles not covered by valid contract permits. The ordinance was replaced by the Karnataka contract carriages (Acquisition) Act, 1976, published in the Karnataka Gazette dated March 12. 1976. The Act was made effective retrospectively from January 30, 1976, and everything done under the Ordinance was deemed to have been done under the Act. Writ, Petitions were filed by various contract carriage operators, financiers and others including those who had successfully filed the earlier Writ Petitions. The High Court allowed the writ petitions. struck, down the Act as unconstitutional, and quashed the notifications. Judgment reported in K. Jayaraj Ballal and Ors. v. State of Karnataka and Ors I.L.R. Karnataka 1976, Vol. 26, P. 1478).
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