News Citation : 2026 LN (HC) 73 | 2026:CGHC:4685

Bilaspur, January 28, 2026 : The Chhattisgarh High Court has upheld a State Transport Appellate Tribunal (STAT) order directing the issuance of a stage carriage permit to a bus operator, while setting aside adverse remarks and costs imposed on transport officials. The court held that the delay in obtaining the permit could not be attributed to the transporter, as the authorities failed to communicate their original approval as required under the law.

Justice Naresh Kumar Chandravanshi was hearing a writ petition filed by the State of Chhattisgarh and transport authorities challenging a STAT order that had directed the Regional Transport Authority (RTA), Raipur, to issue a permit to Sandeep Mishra, a bus owner from Jagdalpur. The tribunal had earlier also imposed costs of ₹10,000 on officials, citing inaction.

The dispute arose from an application for a stage carriage permit that Mishra had submitted to the RTA, Bastar Division, Jagdalpur. The application was allowed on December 19, 2019, subject to conditions, including a requirement that the permit be obtained and operations commenced within 30 days. The State argued that since the bus owner did not act within this period, the approval automatically lapsed.

The High Court rejected this argument, noting that the transport authorities failed to show that the approval order was ever communicated to the applicant, as mandated under Rule 74(3) of the Chhattisgarh Motor Vehicles Rules, 1994. The court held that the 30-day period could begin only from the date the applicant gained knowledge of the order.

The court also took judicial notice of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Supreme Court’s orders excluding the lockdown period from limitation calculations. It observed that after obtaining a certified copy of the approval and submitting representations in December 2020 and September 2021, the transporter received no response from the authorities, prompting him to approach the STAT.

While affirming the tribunal’s direction to issue the permit, the High Court found merit in the State’s argument that the tribunal should not have made adverse observations or imposed costs. The court noted that the appeal before the STAT was filed within 15 days of the application submitted to the RTA, and given the restructuring of transport authorities at the state level in December 2019, some processing time was reasonable.

Accordingly, the High Court set aside the portions of the STAT order imposing costs and adverse remarks against officials, while affirming the direction to grant the permit. The court also recorded that the permit had already been issued to the bus owner for the period from July 15, 2022 to July 14, 2027, making further directions unnecessary.

The writ petition filed by the State was thus allowed in part, with the permit order remaining intact.

WPC No. 1799 of 2022, State of Chhattisgarh and Others vs. Sandeep Mishra, S/o Late Shri Jaiprakash Mishra; Counsels: For the Petitioners/State – Mr. Sabyasachi Choubey, Government Advocate; For the Respondent – Mr. Vinod Kumar Sharma, Advocate, on behalf of Mr. Ajay Shrivastava, Advocate.